Faze Technologies, a startup that builds fun consumer experiences on top of public blockchains, on Wednesday said it has raised USD 17.4 million (about Rs 129.5 crore) in seed funding, led by Tiger Global. The round also saw participation from Coatue and Sequoia Capital India, a statement said.

Other investors in the round included Dapper Labs, Samsung Next, Courtside Ventures, as well as Vivek Ranadive's Bow Capital, it added. Faze has also announced its partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to create exclusive digital collectibles (using NFTs) for cricket to launch on the Flow blockchain.

An NFT is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore, not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files. Faze Technologies was founded by Wall Street veteran Anshum Bhambri, Sundar Raman (founding COO of IPL and ex-CEO of Reliance Sports) and serial entrepreneur Kushagra Kohli.

"Our mission is to build the metaverse for cricket. We are in a unique position to combine NFTs, gaming, utilities, and money-can't-buy experiences to create a platform for fans to collect, use, play, and interact with cricket through NFTs on Flow," Faze Technologies CEO Anshum Bhambri said.

Unaiz Kabani, Partner at Tiger Global, said the organisation is excited to support Faze and its vision of athletes as artists who create collectable moments through memorable plays on the field. "With its talented management team and strong partnerships, Faze will accelerate the democratization of business models emerging in this arena,” Kabani added.

Faze has also entered into a strategic partnership with Dapper Labs, which is building similar experiences for leading sports leagues and federations in the world.

First Published:Nov 3, 2021 8:16 PM IST