Cricket NFT Startup Backed By Ronaldo to Raise $100M

FanCraze, an online platform for trading officially-licensed digital cricket collectibles, is raising roughly $100 million in new funding with investors that include soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Bloomberg. 

Led by VC firms Insight Partners and B Capital Group, the Series A round is expected to be completed in the coming weeks and could see its size change as deliberations continue. 

Previously known as Faze Technologies, the platform has also attracted Mirae Asset Financial Group, a South Korea-based financial services company, as a potential investor. 

FanCraze is in its early stages but has solidified its footprint in the $44 billion NFT market. 

• The platform launched its marketplace in January along with its first pack of NFTs.
• It partnered with the International Cricket Council, the sport’s official governing body.
• The platform creates its exclusive NFTs on the Flow blockchain. 

FanCraze’s latest fundraise follows a $17.4 million seed round in 2021 led by Tiger Global Management. The round included Coatue, Sequoia Capital India, and Dapper Labs.

Lucrative Market 

FanCraze adds to a growing list of NFT-related platforms raising capital. In January, Autograph —  an NFT startup co-founded by Tom Brady — raised $170 million in Series B funding.

A month later, Alchemy, the company that created software tools used to build NBA Top Shot, raised $200 million, valuing the startup at $10.2 billion — nearly triple its previous valuation.