Cricket NFT platform Rario has raised $120 million in its Series A funding round led by Dream Capital, Dream Sports’ investment arm. Alpha Wave Global (previously Falcon Edge Capital) also participated in the round and now joins existing investors Animoca Brands, Presight Capital, and Kingsway Capital.
This is the largest investment by Dream Capital to date for a minority stake in a startup and the investment will provide Rario access to 140 million users of Dream Sports, the company’s press release said.
Rario enables fans to engage as a community, giving them a chance to own a piece of cricket history through digital collectibles across player cards, video moments, and cricket artifacts.
It allows fans to buy, sell, and trade NFTs through FIAT-only mediums such as credit cards, debit cards, and bank transfers. As per the Singapore-based company, it has sold over 50,000 NFTs to sports fans across 20 countries with the USA, UK, Australia, and India as its top 4 markets.
Rario claims to have the largest share of cricket NFT rights globally through exclusive partnerships with 6 international cricket leagues and a roster of more than 900 cricketers. With Dream Capital’s investment, Rario will offer FIAT-only products in India.
Founded by Ankit Wadhwa and Sunny Bhanot in 2021, Rario has recently signed a multi-year exclusive partnership with Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association to create an Australian cricket metaverse of collectibles and gaming.
The lead investor of this round Dream Capital is the corporate venture capital and M&A arm of Dream Sports, the parent company of gaming unicorn Dream11. The $250 million worth fund was launched in August last year to focus on startups in sports, online gaming, and the fitness-tech space. The firm does multi-stage investment strategies ranging from $1 million to $100 million ticket sizes.
Dream Capital has invested in more than a dozen startups including fitness-tech startup Fittr, D2C sports brand Elevar and a $50 million round in its subsidiary FanCode.
