Rally, a pioneer in fractionalized sports collectible investments, raised $30 million in Series B funding led by VC firm Accel, one of the early backers of Facebook.
Due to the growing popularity of collectibles — estimates put the industry’s value at around $6 billion — Rally saw more participation across its platform in Q1 2021 than in all of 2020 combined, a 575% increase compared to the same period a year before.
How the app works:
- Rally acquires one-of-a-kind items — like the game-worn sneakers gifted to LeBron James by Kobe Bryant that it bought for $156,000 in February.
- From there, the collectible is split into shares.
- The shares are offered to Rally users as equity investments.
Another plus? It’s safe. After a fight broke out in a Target parking lot over collectibles, the retailer halted all sales of MLB, NFL, NBA, and Pokémon trading cards.
Rally has now raised more than $50 million from investors that include Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Grammy-winning rapper Nas.
Ohanian is an established investor in collectibles, helping NFT marketplace Sorare raise $50 million through his VC firm, Seven Seven Six. Nas recently invested in Underdog Fantasy through his VC firm, QueensBridge Venture Partners.
