Valued at $4.3B, NFT platform Sorare to invest in women’s sports

Published at: Oct. 4, 2021

Following a $680-million funding round, nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace Sorare is looking to be an active player in bridging the gap between sports and digital entertainment.

Now valued at $4.3 billion, Sorare told Cointelegraph that the company plans to use the fresh capital to expand its business with new hires and partnerships, as well as support community-led programs.

Besides working with community-led football programs aimed at helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and backing underprivileged entrepreneurs in sports and gaming, Sorare CEO Nicolas Julia explained via email that the NFT unicorn would also support female representation in sports. He said:

“We believe that NFTs can significantly accelerate the development of women’s sports. We will actively invest in this by beginning with women’s football.”

Sorare, a Paris-based NFT marketplace focused on sports, made headlines in September following a SoftBank-led $680-million Series B funding.

Julia further detailed how Sorare was going to use the raised capital for business purposes, starting with the new hires to expand the team. “We’re looking to fill many new roles,” he said, both in Europe and the United States.

He added that new partnerships would introduce new football leagues and national teams to the NFT marketplace. Such partnerships require an upfront payment, and Sorare is loaded enough to sign the deal with the top 20 leagues and top 50 national teams, thanks to the hefty funding.

Related: Sports-themed NFTs spark gold rush as projects raise $930M in a week

Sorare also plans to reserve some part of the funds for mobile and marketing efforts. “Our fantasy game will be a mobile-first experience,” Julia explained, adding that the company’s growth was organic until now.

The last topic on Sorare’s agenda is to bring new sports to the platform. “We’ve received interest from leagues and fans across the globe to replicate our model in other sports,” Julia said.

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