This is not SoftBank’s first foray into NFTs: it also led investment in the NFT marketplace OpenSea in July and invested in the decentralised finance platform Juggernaut in March. and Latin American soccer leagues and its investment in broadcaster Televisa-Univision, to increase Sorare’s user base there. SoftBank’s Latin America fund also contributed, which Combes said was because SoftBank can use its relationships with U.S. The fundraising round was SoftBank’s first time investing in Sorare, via its SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The most expensive unique card is of Cristiano Ronaldo, which was bought for 245,072 euros ($287,420.44) on March 13. Since January 2021, there have been $150 million of sales on Sorare, which accepts payments via credit card and the cryptocurrency ether. “We believe this is a huge opportunity to create the next sports entertainment giant.” “We saw the immense potential that blockchain and NFTs brought to unlock a new way for football clubs, footballers, and their fans to experience a deeper connection with each other,” said Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare. It plans to open an office in the United States and expand into sports other than soccer. Sorare is the largest sports-based NFT platform by sales volume, according to, a website which tracks NFT market data. “This evolution from physical assets to digital assets is very powerful, and creates a lot of exciting potential business models.” “We think NFTs represent a new paradigm in the collectability, usability, and engagement with assets,” Michel Combes, president of SoftBank Group International, said in emailed comments. The market for NFTs has seen explosive growth in 2021, with collectible and sports-related the most popular types of token. The cards are traded in the form of non-fungible tokens ( NFTs), a kind of crypto asset which records the ownership status of digital goods on the blockchain. Paris-based Sorare said the investment valued the company at $4.3 billion.įounded in 2018, Sorare is an online game where players buy officially licensed cards representing soccer players and build teams which play against each other, with the outcome based on the players’ performance in real-life games. The platform had a card sales volume of over $150 million since January 2021 across 170 countries.LONDON – Blockchain-based fantasy soccer game Sorare has raised $680 million in a funding round led by SoftBank, with players including ex-England international Rio Ferdinand and Spain’s Gerard Pique also investing, the company said on Tuesday. The company has over 600,000 registered users on the platform and has licensed players from over 180 football organizations, including Real Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus, the French and German Football Federation. Managers compete against each other to collect these scarce cards on the Sorare Marketplace.Ĭards are NFTs, meaning each card is unique, scarce, and its ownership is publicly verifiable via the Ethereum blockchain. Cards come in different scarcities: Each football player has 1000 Limited cards, 100 Rare cards, 10 Super Rare cards, and a single Unique card. The higher a Manager’s position in a leaderboard, the better the card prizes they earn. Based on the players’ performance in real life games, all entered lineups get ranked against one another in a leaderboard. Managers enter these lineups in different tournaments, each with their own entry requirements such as the age of the players or the region their club plays in. Sorare also plans to open its first US office soon and to launch new initiatives to support sports activities for young people and fund other startups in the ecosystem.įounded in 2018 and Nicolas Julia, CEO, Sorare allows users, called Managers, to create lineups consisting of 5 players: a goalkeeper, a defender, a midfielder, a forward, and one other outfield player. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth within football while also replicating its model in other sports, expand its team by hiring across key roles, and launch marketing campaigns with partners, athletes, and media companies. In addition to the investment, Marcelo Claure, CEO of SoftBank Group International and COO of SoftBank Group, will join Sorare’s Board of Directors. The round was led by Softbank, with participation from Atomico, Bessemer Ventures, D1 Capital, Eurazeo, IVP and Liontree and existing investors Benchmark, Accel and Headline, as well as football players Gerard Piqué, Antoine Griezmann, Rio Ferdinand and César Azpilicueta. Sorare, a Paris, France, NFT-based fantasy football platform, raised $680m in Series B financing giving it a new valuation of $4.3 billion.
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