Fanaply, the preferred NFT platform partner for the world’s leading sports, entertainment and music brands, today announced it has closed its first seed round. The round was co-led by Alpha Edison and Elysian Park Ventures, the private investment arm affiliated with the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers, with participation from CyberAgent Capital.
Fanaply is a turnkey NFT provider that develops innovative and eco-conscious blockchain-based digital collectibles and programs. The company works with its partners to implement ownable, fully integrated end-to-end solutions — from NFT creation and publishing, to promotion and selling — that make it easy and secure for brands to take advantage of the new fan engagement opportunities presented by the rapidly growing NFT market. From creating the NHL’s first NFT program in partnership with the New Jersey Devils, to working with the Coachella Music & Arts Festival to create the event’s most successful digital activation in its history, Fanaply has been at the forefront in developing pioneering NFT drops and programs for some of the world’s most renowned brands in sports, music and entertainment.
“NFTs are ushering in an exciting new frontier for IP rights holders, offering a whole new digital asset class to engage, monetize and reward loyal fan bases,” said Grant Dexter, co-founder and CEO of Fanaply. “Fanaply’s integrated services, including our white label platform, SDK integration and Shopify app, make it easy for brands to capitalize on the opportunities in this space and create compelling NFT drops, sellable moments, digital fan clubs, ultra rare collectibles and more. The invaluable support of Elysian Park Ventures, Alpha Edison and CyberAgent Capital allows us to scale in all areas and keep delivering effective solutions to our customers and their fans. We will continue to drive innovation in the market and we are thrilled to have partners who share our strategic vision.”
Fanaply’s platform is also environmentally conscious – it is 100% carbon neutral through its partnership with Offsetra. And unlike standard NFT systems that leverage the blockchain for every transaction, Fanaply uses an approach that only relies on the blockchain for critical elements of the process. The platform’s “managed wallet” system dramatically reduces the number of on-chain transactions, eliminating the majority of traffic sent to the blockchain. This process decreases gas fees, energy consumption, and the environmental footprint of NFTs created and sold on Fanaply altogether.
“We think NFTs will change how leagues, teams, artists, and brands interact with their fans and customers and we’re excited by Fanaply’s demonstrated track record of success in leading first-to-market, end-to-end NFT partnerships with some of the world’s biggest brands,” said Jay Adya, Managing Partner at Elysian Park Ventures. “We are impressed by Fanaply’s novel approach to the NFT market and believe the company is poised to continue its rapid growth, further cementing itself as the preferred NFT solution provider for sports, entertainment, and beyond.”
“Fanaply created a blockchain-based fan engagement platform long before anyone knew what an NFT was. With their standard credit card payment interface and eco-friendly approach to creation of assets, Fanaply is enabling broad access to a newly emerging world of digital collectibles across all domains,” said Steve Horowitz, Partner at Alpha Edison.
Since its founding in 2018, Fanaply has developed groundbreaking, first of its kind partnerships with some of the world’s leading artists and public figures including Olivia Rodrigo and Niall Horan; and top sports, entertainment and music brands, including American Express, Coachella, Misfits Gaming, Death Row Records, the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs Racetrack. The company’s platform offers a variety of different product lines: the Fanaply Marketplace, where partners can instantly release paid and free NFTs to their fans and the Fanaply community; the Fanaply White Label Marketplace, which integrates the Fanaply Marketplace directly into their existing digital properties; and the Fanaply Shopify app, which allows the one million plus businesses on Shopify to integrate and sell NFTs alongside their existing product offerings. In the aggregate, over 300,000 NFTs have been sold and/or distributed via Fanaply’s platform.
About Fanaply
Fanaply creates blockchain-based digital collectibles, or NFTs, for the world’s biggest brands and fans in sports, music, and entertainment. Fanaply has created and issued NFTs for some of the top musicians, record labels, festivals, events, athletes, comedians, sports teams, celebrities and brands in the world, including Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Death Row Records, Niall Horan, 5 Seconds of Summer, Kentucky Derby, Bubba Wallace, NASCAR team JTG Racing and many more.
About Alpha Edison
Alpha Edison is a knowledge-driven venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies using AI, data and behavioral science to provide investable insights and unlock new markets. Through thematic investing and business model innovation, Alpha Edison helps entrepreneurs make better decisions and scale their enterprise.
About Elysian Park Ventures
Elysian Park Ventures is a private investment firm created by the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers that partners with exceptional entrepreneurs operating at the intersection of sports, technology, and entertainment. Based in Los Angeles, New York, and London, Elysian Park invests across stages from seed to growth, and also provides entrepreneurs with strategic, operational, and management resources through the Global Sports Venture Studio, Robin, and Breakaway Data, among others.