NFT Marketplace OpenSea Valued at $1.5B in $100M Funding Round Led by A16z
OpenSea, one of the largest digital art marketplaces to capitalize on 2021’s non-fungible token (NFT) boom, is the latest crypto unicorn.
The NFT platform was valued at $1.5 billion after a $100 million Series B that closed Tuesday, executives told CoinDesk Tuesday. Silicon Valley’s best-known VC, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) once again led the financing round; it headlined OpenSea’s $23 million Series A in March.
Only a handful of crypto startups have become unicorns and OpenSea is perhaps the only to do it, in part, by selling digital pictures of them: A particularly anxious-looking yellow one standing beside a steaming volcano was listed for 0.4 ETH ($703.93) on Monday.
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That’s four times more than its March sale price, during the height of an NFT mania driven by crypto-rich investors and million-dollar NFT sales. The $2.5 billion industry has since cooled amid a wider crypto sell-off – at least according to the popular narrative.
But OpenSea’s trading activity has endured and even grown. Its NFT marketplace, which takes a 2.5% cut, posted a record $160 million in digital asset sales in June.
Co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer said the market has “shifted” to niche projects experimenting in ways “weird and strange.”
Bored Ape Yacht Club, whose 10,000 NFT primates double as digital access passes, “has been a big driver of volume.” Horse racing game ZED RUN has also been a hit.
“It’s getting much more interesting” than one-off art sales, Finzer said. “The art is still really cool, but gaming, event ticketing, domain names, those sorts of use cases” have moved into position.
Cross-chain marketplace
OpenSea plans to support NFT sales from networks like Flow and Tezos in addition to Ethereum, the medium’s historical hub.
The move is a compromise for economics and accessibility, said Finzer. Transactions on Ethereum are just too pricey for casual users. He said other blockchains better support low-value, high-volume projects like event ticketing or gameplay that OpenSea plans to court.
OpenSea raises at a $1.5 billion valuation despite an NFT pullback
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OpenSea Raises $100m Series B from a16z to Scale Industry’s First and Largest NFT Marketplace
NEW YORK, July 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ – OpenSea , the world’s first and largest digital marketplace for crypto collectibles and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), today announced it has raised $100 million in Series B financing led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), valuing the company at $1.5 billion. The company is also launching official support for multiple blockchains, becoming the first cross-blockchain NFT marketplace.
A16z leads OpenSea’s latest funding round, with participation from Coatue and CAA, along with Michael Ovitz, Kevin Hartz, Kevin Durant and Ashton Kutcher. With this capital, OpenSea will continue to scale its NFT platform, with immediate focus on hiring engineering talent and expanding internationally to new markets and audiences, making buying and selling NFTs more accessible to users.
“The team at OpenSea realized early on the need for an open, cross-blockchain marketplace where anyone can buy, sell and create digital NFTs which is why they are one of the most important companies in crypto today,” said Kathryn Haun, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and new addition to OpenSea’s board of directors. “We are thrilled to double down on this team, their technology and overall vision, as they continue to provide the best user experience for today’s creators, buyers and sellers, in one platform.”
The new injection of funding comes as OpenSea NFTs are expanding to more mainstream audiences, and represent an entirely new economy based on digital ownership. OpenSea is the largest marketplace for NFTs, representing gaming items, digital art and collectables, event tickets, domain names and over 25 million other assets backed by blockchains.
In June 2021 alone, OpenSea sold $160 million in digital assets on its NFT marketplace, and experienced a 45x increase in volume growth during the first half of 2021. High-volume collectible avatar projects like Hashmasks, Bored Ape Yacht Club and Meebits, which combine elements of art, blockchain tech and social clubs, have also taken off on OpenSea in 2021.
OpenSea provides both a marketplace and platform where users can easily connect their crypto wallets to instantly purchase or list their NFTs for sale. Today, the company announced support for the Polygon blockchain, eliminating gas fees for creators, buyers and sellers on the OpenSea marketplace. The company also plans to invest in its next phase of ecosystem growth with cross-blockchain support, enabling a truly open data economy. OpenSea’s marketplace currently supports Ethereum, Polygon and Klaytn, and has plans to add new chains like Flow and Tezos in the coming months. Investing in the interoperability and scalability of OpenSea’s cross-chain marketplace is part of the company’s larger vision to bring users closer to Web3.
“With increasing market adoption around crypto economies, NFTs are quickly becoming the new internet,” said Devin Finzer, Co-founder & CEO of OpenSea. “It’s pretty remarkable to be experiencing one of the biggest fundamental changes the internet economy has seen in decades. We’re proud to be leading this growing industry that we have been part of for a long time. As we continue to scale, our focus will remain on our customers, and providing the best user experience and entry point into NFTs.”
OpenSea launched in 2017, announcing a $2 million round a few months later from Founders Fund alongside industry-leading crypto firms. In March 2021, the company announced a $23 million Series A funding round led by a16z, with participation from existing investors and angels including Ron Conway, Mark Cuban, Belinda Johnson, Naval Ravikant, Ben Silbermann, and more.
About OpenSea
Founded in 2017, OpenSea is the world’s first and largest peer-to-peer marketplace for crypto collectibles and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). OpenSea supports multiple blockchains, with the broadest set of categories for new emerging asset classes, which include digital collectibles, gaming items, and other virtual goods. For more information visit, https://opensea.io .
Contact:
Mike Paffmann
516-852-4302
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SOURCE OpenSea
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