NFT platform Autograph, led by NFL star Tom Brady, raises $170 million

The sports- and entertainment-focused NFT platform Autograph raised $170 million in a Series B financing round. It was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Kleiner Perkins, TechCrunch reports.

Among the participants were: the firm 01A, Lightspeed partner Nicole Quinn, and Katie Haun’s new fund, who recently left a16z.

As a result of the round, Katie Haun, the general partner of a16z Arianna Simpson and Ilya Fushman from Kleiner Perkins joined Autograph’s board.

They joined co-founders Richard Rosenblatt and Tom Brady, NFL star. The board also includes Abel Tesfaye, the Canadian singer Weeknd, and co-founder and CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried.

The NFT platform has been operating since April 2021. Among those who used it to release collections are Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, golfer Tiger Woods, tennis player Naomi Osaka, Brady, and the Weeknd.

“CEO Dillon Rose and the Autograph team have accomplished a great deal over the past six months. They are at the forefront of NFTs and understand what consumers are looking for,” wrote Simpson.

CEO @DillonRose24 and the team have already accomplished so much over the past 6 months. They’re at the forefront of NFTs and understand what consumers are looking for.

I can’t wait to see where they’ll go next!

— AriannaSimpson.eth (@AriannaSimpson) January 19, 2022

In January 2022, the trading volume of market-leading NFT marketplace OpenSea reached $3.52 billion. The figure surpassed the record high set in August 2021.

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