The newly raised capital will be used to fund Candy’s
continued expansion of its NFT offerings across the global sports landscape for
both current and emerging partners. The funding round was co-led by leading
global private equity and venture capital firms Insight Partners and Softbank
Vision Fund 2.
Additional participants in the round include Connect
Ventures, an investment partnership between leading entertainment and sports
agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and global venture capital firm New
Enterprise Associates (NEA), Will Ventures, Gaingels, Com2Us, Athletes
Syndicate in partnership with Chaos Ventures, which includes participation from
current and retired MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL players, and NFL Hall of Famer
Peyton Manning.
Candy Digital announced its launch earlier this year with
Founding Board members: Michael Rubin, CEO, Fanatics; Mike Novogratz, founder
and CEO, Galaxy Digital; and Gary Vaynerchuk, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor.
Candy Digital is building Major League Baseball’s official
NFT ecosystem where fans and collectors will be able to purchase, trade, and share
officially licensed NFTs to deepen their love of the sport. Candy Digital plans
to use the new funds to integrate new sports relationships and accelerate the
growth of its global team and capabilities across its creative content studio,
user experience team, and marketplace platform where fans can buy, trade, sell
and store their NFTs.
Funds will also be used to scale the company’s recruiting,
marketing, customer success and engineering groups as the company expands its
tech-centric offering to enhance the overall fan experience. The company’s
current partners include Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Baseball
Players Association (MLBPA), the Race Team Alliance (RTA) and several notable
college athletes.
“Candy is focused on being the trusted, institutional-grade
provider of authentic licensed products in the NFT space, and we are excited to
continue to grow our business and develop unique digital assets which bring
fans and collectors closer to the sports and players they love,” said Scott
Lawin, CEO of Candy Digital.
“Blockchain and NFTs provide tremendous opportunities to
enhance the fan experience by allowing people to own a piece of their passion.
We’re thrilled to continue partnering with the leading sports leagues around
the world to engage fans through the next generation of sports collectibles as
we create the future of fandom together.”
“Fans crave new methods of engaging with their favorite
athletes and teams, and Candy Digital is primed to power the next generation of
sports fandom,” said Deven Parekh, Managing Director at Insight Partners.
“The company is led by an experienced founding team across
the sports and entertainment industries and has won early partnerships such as
with MLB. We're excited to partner with Candy Digital as they build fan
engagement experiences for the digital age."
“By combining Fanatics’ proven track record with blockchain
and NFT expertise, we believe Candy Digital is creating a leading platform that
offers consumers the opportunity to own a unique digital asset,” said Lydia
Jett, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers.
“The company’s partnership with MLB and MLBPA is a strong
indication that fans and collectors want to engage with their favorite sports,
music, and art in new ways. We are delighted to partner with Scott and the team
to support their ambition to become the leading digital collectible NFT
platform.”
This month, Candy Digital is unveiling its ‘Beta’ platform
giving fans and consumers their first opportunity to directly buy, sell and
trade Candy’s NFT products. The launch coincides with the unveiling of three
new, unique products for the upcoming MLB playoffs and World Series. Since
launch, Candy Digital has released several products in partnership with MLB and
a roster of college athletes.
The first-ever MLB World Series NFT was released to
celebrate the LA Dodgers’ 2020 World Series victory, and the company also
designed a series of Lou Gehrig NFTs to commemorate the league’s first official
Lou Gehrig Day. The company continues to unveil products from its “Sweet
Futures” college NFT line, which includes Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei, North
Carolina’s Sam Howell, Georgia’s JT Daniels, and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder.
The investment round and vision to continue innovating the
fan experience comes at a time when Fanatics, the majority owner of Candy
Digital, is building a global digital sports platform complete with everything
sports fans want.
The company recently announced plans to expand beyond
merchandise and unlock new verticals across the sports ecosystem, including
NFTs through Candy Digital, trading cards, online betting, iGaming and more.
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