NFT Marketplace OpenSea Valued at $13.3 Billion in a Series C funding


OpenSea which is a leading NFT marketplace
and blockchain start-ups in Silicon Valley announced on Tuesday night that it
has raised $300 million in a Series C funding round led by venture capital
firms Paradigm and Coatue Management. Investors now valued the company at $13.3
billion just four years after it was founded.
OpenSea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer in
a blog post highlighted that the money will be used for product development and
recruiting more staff. Helping to develop the larger NFT and Web3 while improving
customer support will also be their focus. Through an emailed statement, Finzer
highlighted that this year, OpenSea will reduce the barriers for entry to the
NFT space on OpenSea and will focus more on investing in the ecosystem and the
community that powers it. On Twitter, OpenSea said “Announcing Series C! We’re
building the friendliest & most trusted NFT marketplace with the best
selection across many chains. The funding helps us accelerate product
development, improve trust & safety, and invest deeply in the web3
community & ecosystem”.
During the announcement about raising funds, Finzer
also revealed about hiring OpenSea’s new VP of Product Shiva Rajaraman who was the former
Facebook executive. Former, head of product Nate Chastain, left the company as
he found using inside information to buy NFTs before they appeared on the
marketplace and sold them at a profit.
About OpenSea:
OpenSea which was founded in 2017, was
created as a marketplace to trade on nonfungible tokens that are backed by
blockchain technology. Famous
Ethereum-based NFT collections in the space, including Bored Ape Yacht Club and
CryptoPunks are being hosted in OpenSea.
Earlier fundraising event:
In July 2020, as per company data, OpenSea
was valued at $1.5 billion after it raised more than $100 million in Series B
from investors like firm Andreessen Horowitz and the actor Ashton Kutcher. This
news was first highlighted by The New York Times. In November, as per report, it
was set for a $10 billion valuation from its Series C.
Also Read | NFT marketplace OpenSea freezes $2.2M of stolen Bored Apes

Indrani bose
CBW - External Analyst
INDIA