The world’s first cricket NFT platform, India-based Rario announced the raise of $120M in a Series A funding round led by Dream Capital, the Corporate Venture Capital and M&A arm of Dream Sports.
Rario now has exposure to Dream Sports’ 140M customers, who will be offered FIAT-only products in India, with the potential to establish the largest cricket NFT platform in the world.
The other investors who participated in the funding round were Alpha Wave Global joining existing investors Animoca Brands, Presight Capital, and Kingsway Capital.
Through exclusive contracts with six major cricket leagues and a roster of over 900 cricketers, Rario presently holds the greatest share of cricket NFT rights in the world.
Rario has sold over 50,000 NFTs to sports fans in 20 countries since 2021, with the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India being the top four markets.
Ankit Wadhwa, Co-Founder & CEO, Rario, stated “Cricket is the 2nd largest sport in the world with more than 1.5bn fans globally. 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 140M sports fans on Dream Sports.”
This is Dream Capital’s largest investment to date, as well as the single largest investment in the worldwide cricket NFT industry.
Dev Bajaj, Chief Strategy Officer, Dream Sports, noted “DreamCap is glad to partner with Rario to help sports fans engage deeper with their favorite players and teams.”
A few days back, NFT marketplace developer BlockTrust and Rario announced a collaboration with Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association in a multi-year licensing deal to issue NFTs. Collectibles that celebrate the history of some of the cricketing moments in Australia are going to be a product of this partnership.
