Tom Brady’s NFT Startup Autograph Snags $170M in Series B Funding

NFT

Nonfungible token (NFT) platform Autograph, which was co-founded in July by seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and helps athletes and entertainers promote their NFTs, recently raised $170 million in a Series B funding round, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Jan. 20).

Silicon Valley investment firms Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins led the fundraising effort, with other investments from Lightspeed Venture partner Nicole Quinn and Katie Haun’s new firm. Haun is also joining Autograph as a board member, along with Andreessen Horowitz partners Arianna Simpson and Chris Dixon, and Kleiner Perkins partner Ilya Fushman.

Fushman wrote in a recent blog post that Autograph will be a “cornerstone platform” bringing web3 to the mainstream.

“The company is becoming a magnet for top talent, and I’m delighted to join the board to help Autograph bring exciting new NFT experiences to the mainstream,” Simpson said in a statement.

In addition to his involvement with Autograph, Brady has an equity stake in cryptocurrency exchange FTX. That platform’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, is also on the Autograph board. Brady’s NFT collection last year sold out within minutes.

Autograph also has NFT deals with sports celebrities like Tiger Woods, Naomi Osaka and Tony Hawk. Fans can purchase the NFTs on specific platforms, including DraftKings Inc and OpenSea.

Related: Nordstrom Hopes to Score With Tom Brady-Themed Apparel

On Wednesday (Jan. 19), Brady launched a line of namesake apparel, BRADY, at Nordstrom, available on Nordstrom’s website, as well as at its physical stores in New York City; Los Angeles; Tampa, Florida; and Natick, Massachusetts.

The BRADY collection debuted with two “systems”: TRAIN, a line of high-performance outerwear, tee shirts, tank tops, pants and shorts, and LIVE, which includes clothing deigned for everyday life, including utility jackets and pants, ponte hoodies and sweatshirts.