Cricket NFT platform FanCraze raises $100M in funding led by Insight Partners, others

FanCraze, an online cricket NFT platform, has raised $100 million in a funding round led by Insight Partners and B Capital Group. The round also saw participation from Mirae Financial, Tiger Global, Coatue Management, Sequoia Capital India, Courtside Ventures, and Cristiano Ronaldo's CR7, according to a Bloomberg report.

The NFT platform says the raised funds will be used towards building cricket-oriented metaverse and expanding its R&D lab, user experience team, gaming studio, and marketplace platform where fans can buy, sell, and craft NFTs.

Prior to the current round, FanCraze has raised funds from top investors like Tiger Global, Samsung Next, Courtside Ventures, amongst others.

Launched in 2021, FanCraze is building the International Cricket Council's (ICC) NFT ecosystem and has partnered with Cricket West Indies (CWI), and cricketers Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Muthiah Muralidaran, Jonty Rhodes, Shikhar Dhawan, Andre Russell, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

“NFTs are fast becoming a movement and are enabling a direct relationship between all types of IP owners and their fans. NFTs represent culture and FanCraze is building an experience that would enable fans to collect cricket NFTs, engage with play-to-earn games and utilities, and own digital land,” said Anshum Bhambri, CEO of FanCraze.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has signed a contract with the startup to create exclusive cricket NFTs and the platform is built on the Flow blockchain, that is used to support NBA Top Shot. NFTs are stored, exchanged, and acquired on the Flow blockchain. NBA Top Shot became so popular and now it has over 600 users, including Mark Cuban, Tyrese Haliburton, and other celebrities, the statement said.

“Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world and FanCraze has quickly become the leader of cricket digital collectibles and NFTs, especially with their exclusive partnership with the ICC,” said Deven Parekh, MD, Insight Partners. “FanCraze’s co-founders, Anshum and Sundar, are best-in-class and we look forward to partnering with the FanCraze team as they continue to rapidly scale up and grow.”

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