Frenchman Sorare, NFT champion, raises $ 680 million
Digital collectible cards featuring football players from Paris-Saint Germain, from the online fantasy football platform Sorare.
© REUTERS - Sorare
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The start-up Sorare, which relies on the emerging technology of NFTs to create an online game for exchanging football player stickers, raised this Tuesday, September 21, 680 million dollars (or 580 million euros), new record for the tech sector in France.
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With a valuation of 4.3 billion dollars (3.7 billion euros), the very young Parisian company founded in 2018 already claims the first place of French “
unicorns
”, these unlisted companies worth more than a billion.
"
Our ambition is to create the world's leading entertainment group in the world of sports,
" company co-founder Nicolas Julia told AFP.
This amount allows us to focus on our product until a potential IPO within a few years.
"
The operation is being carried out by Softbank.
The Japanese conglomerate was already maneuvering in the previous record dating from May 2021, which had allowed the web specialist ContentSquare to raise $ 500 million.
Digital collectibles and virtual sports games
Sorare has never advertised yet, but has relied on the fame of some of his investors, including players Gerard Piqué, Rio Ferdinand, Antoine Griezmann, and César Azpilicueta.
The two co-founders of the company remain "in the
majority
", Nicolas Julia told AFP.
"
Sorare is positioned at the crossroads of two very stimulating sectors: digital collectibles and" fantasy sports "
", these virtual sports games, explained Marcelo Claure, CEO of SoftBank, quoted in the press release.
Blockchain and speculation
In this game, which uses
blockchain
technology
, users can buy and sell images of players whose value depends on performance in real matches.
Sorare claims more than 250,000 active players, including between 30,000 and 40,000 who have a player card in the form of NFT, that is to say whose rarity is guaranteed.
Monetary exchanges are made in Ether, a cryptocurrency.
On the site, the amounts are however well indicated in euros, up to several million for the most expensive cards, virtual goods but very speculative.
New users can experience the game with unlimited free cards.
►
To read also: NFT: what is “crypto-art”?
Partnerships with clubs and leagues
Thanks to this investment, Sorare wants to expand internationally - the company is currently opening an office in the United States -, recruit specialists in the growth of the user base and expand into new sports.
From 30 employees today, it expects to increase to 200 next year.
She also needs to forge new partnerships with clubs and leagues, as she recently announced with La Liga in Spain.
The latter will recover the royalties on the use of their brand and require a guaranteed minimum income.
►
To read also: Crypto-art: why NFTs divide the artistic community
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