Cricket non-fungible token (NFT) platform Rario has raised US$120 million and will gain access to Dream Sports’ 140 million-strong user base following its Series A funding round.
Dream Capital, the corporate venture capital and M&A arm of Dream Sports, led the funding round, which also involved Alpha Wave Global. Existing investors include Animoca Brands, Presight Capital, and Kingsway Capital.
Singapore-based Rario was founded in 2021 and has sold more than 50,000 NFTs to sports fans in 20 countries, with the USA, UK, Australia, and India its four biggest markets.
It recently agreed a deal with Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) to create NFTs based on some of the most memorable moments in the country’s cricketing history.
Meanwhile, Dream Sports operates the popular Dream11 fantasy sports games and has ambitions to develop a wider sports technology ecosystem. It raised US$800 million last year at a valuation of US$8 billion and has interests in areas like ticketing, ecommerce and content.
Dream Sports’ investment in Rario is its largest to date and is claimed to be the single largest investment in the cricket NFT space in the world. The combination of Rario and Dream Sports’ expertise will help to strengthen their joint ambition to create a cricketing metaverse.
“Cricket is the second largest sport in the world with more than 1.5 billion fans globally,” said Ankit Wadhwa, co-founder and chief executive of Rario. “NFTs are creating new forms of engagement allowing fans to own and trade digital collectibles. Rario’s global cricket NFT ecosystem will be further strengthened by the 140 million sports fans on Dream Sports.”
“DreamCap is glad to partner with Rario to help sports fans engage deeper with their favourite players and teams,” added Dev Bajaj, chief strategy officer at Dream Sports.