Mumbai, April 21: World’s first cricket non-fungible token (NFT) platform Rario on Thursday said it has raised $120 million led by Dream Capital, the VC and M&A arm of Dream Sports.
Singapore-based Rario currently has the largest share of cricket NFT rights globally through exclusive partnerships with six international cricket leagues and more than 900 cricketers. Walmart Plans to Enter the Metaverse By Launching its Own Cryptocurrency and NFT Collection.
The platform said that with the new investment, it will get access to Dream Sports’ 140 million users, who will be offered fiat-only products in India, with the potential to create the largest cricket NFT platform globally.
“NFTs are creating new forms of engagement allowing fans to own and trade digital collectibles,” said Ankit Wadhwa, co-Founder and CEO, Rario.
Alpha Wave Global (previously Falcon Edge Capital) also participated in the Series A round.
Founded in 2021 by IIT Delhi alumni Wadhwa and Sunny Bhanot, Rario recently signed one of the world’s largest cricket NFT deals, a multi-year exclusive partnership with Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association to create an Australian cricket metaverse of collectibles and gaming.
Through Rario, Indian sports fans can buy, sell and trade NFTs through credit cards, debit cards, and bank transfers.
Since 2021, Rario has sold over 50,000 NFTs to sports fans across 20 countries, and the key markets are the US, the UK, Australia and India.
“Web 3.0 use cases in sports are transformational, and we are looking to back more startups in the space globally with innovative utilities of NFTs,” said Dev Bajaj, Chief Strategy Officer, Dream Sports.
With Rario, Dream Capitals portfolio has grown to nine companies.
(The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Apr 21, 2022 11:25 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).
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