Creators of CryptoKitties introduce Dr Seuss digital collectibles
The creators of CryptoKitties, Dapper Labs, has announced that they will be doing Dr Seuss digital collectibles on the Flow blockchain.
Dapper Labs is a company building blockchain-based games and digital collectibles. The company was formed in February 2018 when it was spun out of Axiom Zen. Dapper Labs was spun out of Axiom Zen to spread the benefits of decentralization through the power of play. Roham Gharegozlou is the current CEO of Dapper Labs while Sam Gharegozlou, the President of Axiom Zen is a board member of Dapper Labs.
Axiom Zen is a startup studio based in Vancouver and Los Angeles founded in 2012 by Roham Gharegozlou. Products developed by Axiom Zen have touched 200+ million consumers and are used by the world’s leading organizations. ZenHub, the world’s leading collaboration solution for technical teams; Toby, tab management with personality recognized as Top Chrome Extension of the year by both Google and Product Hunt, and of course CryptoKitties, the first mainstream application of blockchain technology outside cryptocurrency.
Launched in December 2017, CryptoKitties is a blockchain application that lets users “breed” and trade digital representations of kittens. The game was single-handedly responsible for up to 15% of the public Ethereum blockchain network traffic.
To date, just under US$28M has been transacted trading and purchasing CryptoKitties, with the Average Sale Price of US$40.91. The price of the most valuable kittie to date is US$282,000.
In September 2019 the company announced the development of Flow, a blockchain built from the ground up to support high-performance ecosystems of apps and games without compromising decentralization. Bitcoin and Ethereum show how crypto can make the world of finance more open and transparent. Flow will do the same for consumers of entertainment and culture," said Roham Gharegozlou.
The companies latest announcement is a partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises to create all-new digital collectibles on the Flow blockchain. Featuring some of Dr Seuss’s most iconic and popular characters, including Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Horton, and Thing One and Thing Two. The web-based experience will enable fans of Dr. Seuss’s vast universe the ability to collect digital packs of their favorite characters.
"Dr Seuss fans are some of the most passionate fans in the world," said Susan Brandt, president of Dr Seuss Enterprises. "By partnering with a company like Dapper Labs, a true trailblazer in the blockchain space, we will be able to offer our fans something entirely new. Digital collectibles will allow Dr Seuss fans to revisit and revel in their favourite characters in an entirely new way."
Dapper Labs first funding round occurred in March 2018, when the company raised US$12.9M from Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, and other investors.
In November 2018, Dapper Labs announced a further raise of US$15M in a round led by Venrock, with participation from GV (formerly Google Ventures), Samsung NEXT, CoinFund, Animoca Brands, June Fund, HOF Capital, John Pfeffer, and GBIC. Existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, SV Angel, Digital Currency Group, William Mougayar, Hex Capital, and Rising Tide Fund also participated in the round.
"The team at Dapper Labs impressed us with their vision. More than any other company in this industry, they truly understand and aim to reach the mainstream consumer," said David Pakman, a Partner at Venrock and Director on the Dapper Labs’ Board. "The blockchain will usher in an industry of scarce digital assets and will enable new types of self-expression. Combined with the transition from centralized to peer-to-peer commerce, this will unlock trillions of dollars in value for consumers."
In July 2019 the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced a partnership with Dapper Labs, to develop NBA Top Shot, a new digital platform for basketball fans to collect, trade, and own some of the greatest moments in league history on the blockchain.
"Dapper Labs’ innovation and expertise make them a perfect partner to introduce this groundbreaking game and what we believe will become coveted digital collectibles for basketball fans around the world," said Adrienne O’Keeffe, NBA Senior Director, Consumer Products & Gaming Partnerships.
In September 2019, alongside the announcement of Flow, the company disclosed that they have raised US$11.2M in another investment round. This round was led by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund, with participation from new investors Accomplice, AppWorks, Autonomous Partners, Fenbushi Digital, and Warner Music Group, as well as existing investors.
"Warner Music is always searching for new opportunities for our artists and has dedicated itself to exploring emerging technologies to enable these," said Jeff Bronikowski, SVP, Global Digital Business Development and Head of Innovation and Emerging Technology at Warner Music Group. "When we met with Dapper Labs, they immediately understood our vision so we sought to solidify the partnership through this strategic investment."
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