Autograph, the sports and entertainment non-fungible token (NFT) platform co-founded last year by NFL icon Tom Brady, has raised $170 million of Series B funding and added a number of new members to its board as it continues to scale.
The funding round was co-led by a16z and Kleiner Perkins and included investments from Nicole Quinn of Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and 01A.
01A co-led (with Velvet Sea Ventures) a Series A financing round for the company in July, when it was launched.
Autograph says it intends to use its new funding “to scale its NFT technology with the world's most iconic sports and entertainment partners, bringing the power and possibilities created by Web3 to the mainstream.”
Among the sports stars with which it has collaborated on NFT collections since then are Brady himself, Tiger Woods, Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and Tony Hawk.
Several new partnerships are said to have been finalized and are to be announced soon.
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By GlobalDataAs part of its growth drive, Autograph has appointed the following individuals to its board: Katie Haun (general partner at Andreessen Horowitz), Arianna Simpson (general partner at a16z), Ilya Fushman (partner at Kleiner Perkins), and Chris Dixon (general partner at a16z).
They join alongside co-chairmen Richard Rosenblatt and Tom Brady, chief executive Dillon Rosenblatt, and existing board members Dick Costolo (partner at 01A), Michael Lazero (partner at Velvet Sea Ventures), Eddy Cue (senior vice president of services at Apple), Sam Bankman-Fried (founder and CEO of FTX), Adam Bain (co-founder and managing partner at 01 Advisors), Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd), Peter Mattoon (executive chairman at SCS Financial), and Michael Meldman (founder, chairman, and chief executive of Discovery Land Company).
Simpson said: “Autograph has truly shown itself to be a rocketship in the past six months. Their NFT platform is delivering digital experiences that excite mainstream consumers, not just the crypto community. The company is becoming a magnet for top talent, and I'm delighted to join the board to help Autograph bring exciting new NFT experiences to the mainstream.”
Haun added: “We're in the midst of an exciting moment in the evolution of the next generation of the internet. The benefits of being an early adopter of web3 products and services as a creator or a consumer are real but there have historically been significant barriers to entry for most people. Autograph has assembled a world-class team that understands how to build trusted, delightful product experiences that will accelerate the mainstreaming of crypto.”