The Autograph Non Fungible Token Market (NFT) co-founded by Super Bowl champion Tom Brady announced the closing of a $170 million funding round.
In a Wednesday announcement, Autograph said Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, and VC firm Kleiner Perkin co-led the $170-million Series B round with contributions from crypto investor Katie Haun’s firm, Nicole Quinn of Lightspeed Venture Partners, and San Francisco-based venture firm 01A. The company stated that it plans to use the funds to develop its NFT technology and suggested a series of partnerships to expand its user base.
On top of the round of financing, haun, a16z commissioned arianna simpson, and kleiner perkins partner ilya fushman will join autographers' board of directors, with general partner a16z chris dixon joining the firm's board of directors. According to the new members, autograph will continue to target widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies and nfts.
Big news on the @Autograph front. We are excited to add some very knowledgeable people in the web3 space to our team. This thread from @cdixon includes some great context on our business. #ToTheMoon https://t.co/Xsmws3KQ05
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) January 19, 2022
Since its launch in August 2021, Autograph has partnered with major names in sports and entertainment, often for NFT collections. In December, Brady dropped a series of ??digital collectibles representing moments from his football career, including cleats and a jersey, from the NFL combine. The marketplace also features nfts of tennis star naomi osaka, skateboarder tony hawk and others.
Related: Touchdown! Goal! Knockout! Cryptography and sport clash in 2021.
Andreessen Horowitz has been behind some of the biggest funding rounds for crypto and blockchain projects as well as its own crypto-focused funds dedicated to expanding the size and marketability of blockchain projects. The company's portfolio comprises Coinbase, Compound, Maker and many others.