FANtium raises €2M angel investment to democratize athlete financing
FANs, we are excited to announce our pre-seed angel round and tell you more about what we are building with FANtium! We are one step closer to allowing FANs to invest in athletes and participate in their real-world financial success.
The EUR 2 million (US $2 million) funding comes from prominent web3 business angels, among them Sandbox COO & Co-Founder Sebastien Borget, Sorare growth lead Brian O’Hagan, Argent Co-Founder & CEO Itamar Lesuisse and Spatial Co-Founder Anand Agarawala. Further, the company receives backing from well-known sports personalities and entrepreneurs, including Austrian tennis professional, US Open Champion Dominic Thiem, and OneFootball founder Lucas von Cranach.
At FANtium, we imagine a future where sports FANs invest in the athletes they believe in. In turn, they get a share of the athlete’s prize money and sponsorship deals. On top of the financial benefit, we empower FANs to unlock emotional value by becoming part of the athlete’s close community, connecting them with the athlete in a whole new way.
Read more about how FANtium works here.
“A season on the professional tennis tour is costly. Many young players are struggling, especially when their parents can’t afford their career”,
says Dominic Thiem an Austrian tennis professional and US Open Champion. “A lot of young talents are forced to retire from the sport in early stages because they have trouble affording their careers.”
This is what we want to change at FANtium.
“There are billions of sports enthusiasts in the world who would love to invest in these athletes and become part of their journey,” says Jonathan Ludwig, Co-Founder and CEO of FANtium.
“By connecting these talents with sports enthusiasts, we are making the sport more equal because as a young athlete, your success will no longer depend on your financial background.”
The platform is similar to music NFT marketplaces like Royal, which sell song rights as NFTs. We envision athlete investments as a new asset class that will span many sports rights categories.
When it comes to regulation, whether such NFTs will be considered securities remains to be seen, including the implications that will follow for platforms and users. However, FANtium is following a new approach, launching in a security-compliant way, starting in Switzerland.
“We believe that regulation will be good for the NFT industry, as it provides trust and transparency for NFT owners”, says Ludwig. “The dynamic and fragmented regulatory environment with specific requirements in each jurisdiction will remain one of our biggest challenges in the next few years, especially since our goal is to provide frictionless access to athlete investments in a compliant way.”
We will launch our first athlete drop before the end of the year, leveraging athletes’ communities to bring early sports fans into Web3. FANs can sign up for early access through our waitlist here.
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