CNN and Turner Sports have partnered with GigLabs to use non-fungible tokens to bring their IP to life. The company announced today that it raised $4.5 million, led by Dapper Labs and Panoramic Ventures. Collab+Currency, Red Beard Ventures, Eterna Capital, Alumni Venture Group, Gaingels, and Amino Capital are also participating in the round. GigLabs will continue to be the leading platform that will allow brands, creatives, and collectors to create memorable experiences using NFTs thanks to the caliber and variety of investors participating in this round. Â
“At GigLabs, we firmly believe that every brand will have an NFT strategy in the future,†said Douglas Dimola, CEO and co-founder of GigLabs. “This funding enables us to expand the talent of our team to continue expanding our offerings to meet current and future demand, while also working with the best and brightest partners to continue to push this new innovation forward.â€
NFTs have increased in popularity with the market reaching billions in trading and sales volume. As NFTs continue to rapidly see mainstream adoption, with major sports leagues, media outlets and prestige auction houses participating in projects, brands are increasingly seeking to get involved—but they need reliable partners to navigate the significant technical complexities when integrating NFT projects into enterprise level organizations. GigLabs’ technology is championed by some of the biggest names in entertainment, giving customers access to emergent Web3 innovations. GigLabs’ solutions enable brands and creators to launch new NFT projects, with customizable branded storefronts and marketplaces, as well as metaverse experiences for their communities. In addition, GigLabs has pioneered transferring NFTs to fans while at live events, all through a QR code.
GigLabs’ platform allows enterprise brands to build lasting relationships with consumers and create customized and personalized experiences through NFTs that live on the Flow blockchain. Major brand partners supported by the GigLabs platform include CNN, Turner Sports, Bleacher Report, Speedway Motorsports’ RaceDay NFT—the first-ever NASCAR-related NFT, University of Miami’s Canes Vault, Athletes Unlimited and others. This funding round will allow the company to build out its team and scale to accelerate customer growth.
“GigLabs continues to impress through the team’s ability to develop the technology solutions needed for any brand to build a powerful NFT experience,†said Roham Gharegozlou, CEO of Dapper Labs. “It’s awesome to see the world’s leading brands building on Flow and supercharging their connection to consumers.â€
“Sometimes the magic is making it simple to do something complex. GigLabs takes a transformative technology and makes it accessible to companies, organizations and brands of all sizes,†said Paul Judge, Managing Partner of Panoramic Ventures. “We believe in the power of NFTs to combine content, culture, and community and we’re enthusiastic to back GigLabs on this journey.â€
GigLabs has built multiple solutions to not only bring brands into the world of NFTs but also to provide onramps into the much broader metaverse. These include NFT Bridge, which is the company’s whitelabeled solution for brands and creators to launch customizable NFT marketplaces directly on their own websites. The platform also includes a solution that allows for frictionless claiming of NFTs via a QR code while attending live events, a novel way to blend fandom in the physical and virtual worlds. GigLabs has also built RareRooms, a 3D/VR enabled metaverse that allows collectors to curate and showcase their NFTs as well as allow brands to have amazing virtual storefronts and customizable spaces that allow their fans to truly experience their NFTs. Nearly 10,000 RareRooms have been created to display unique, curated sets of NFTs by collectors.
About GigLabs
Founded in 2017, GigLabs is on a mission to empower brands, creators and collectors to create defining and memorable NFT experiences. The company partners with brands, agencies and creators to provide easy-to-use products for generating, minting, and selling NFTs that can be presented within fully customizable brand experiences, both on the web and in VR. Built by the GigLabs’ team of experienced blockchain developers and NFT enthusiasts, the API-driven NFT Bridge platform delivers flexible and scalable NFT tools that allow any brand to build any NFT experience imaginable.
RareRooms is GigLabs’ customizable 3D immersive metaverse for showcasing NFTs, including digital collectibles, art and more, integrated across multiple blockchains.
For more information, visit https://www.giglabs.io/.
About Dapper Labs
Dapper Labs, the company behind NBA Top Shot and the original developers behind the Flow blockchain, uses blockchain technology to bring NFTs and new forms of digital engagement to fans around the world. Since it was founded in 2018, Dapper Labs has given consumer enthusiasts a real stake in the game by bringing them closer to the brands they love, enabling engaged and exciting communities for them to contribute to, and powering new pathways for them to become creators themselves. Dapper Labs’ current studio partners include the NBA, NBPA, WNBA, WNBPA, LaLiga, Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, Genies and UFC. Notable investors in Dapper Labs include Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Union Square Ventures, Venrock, BOND, GIC, Google Ventures (GV), Samsung, and the founders of Dreamworks, Reddit, Coinbase, Zynga, and AngelList, among others. For more about Dapper Labs’ products and mission, visit dapperlabs.com.
About Panoramic Ventures
Panoramic Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Atlanta that takes a “wider-view” approach to investing by targeting the Southeast and Midwest and placing a focus on diverse founders and university startups. Panoramic opens new doors for overlooked founders, giving more entrepreneurs access to capital to build leading tech companies. For more information, visit www.panoramic.vc or follow Panoramic Ventures on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter @panoramicvc.
