Blockchain company GigLabs has announced a US$4.5 million seed round led by Dapper Labs and Panoramic Ventures. 

Other investors participating in the round include Collab+Currency, Red Beard Ventures, Eterna Capital, Alumni Venture Group, Gaingels, and Amino Capital. The caliber and variety of investors participating in this round demonstrates broad support for GigLabs to be the leading provider of infrastructure for brands, creators and collectors to build memorable experiences through NFTs. 

“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.”

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.”

“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.”

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.

OnChain Studios has announced a US$7.5M seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Draper & Associates, CoinFund, Sound Ventures, Dapper Labs, Collab + Currency, WndrCo, and other notable investors.

The NFT studio’s flagship project, Cryptoys, will be launching soon on Flow, and will offer the first-ever fully interactive NFT (non-fungible token) digital toys. In addition to being able to buy, sell, and collect Cryptoys, consumers will also be able to play with them inside an immersive world built on the blockchain. To add depth, each Cryptoy can gain more capabilities as it’s played with more often, continually unlocking new experiences. 

Will Weinraub, CEO and Co-Founder of OnChain Studios, explained: “What started off as a side project for my daughter has turned into this amazing company, and I feel blessed to be building it with such an incredible team. The rise of NFTs and blockchain allows us to create new revolutionary experiences that have never been done before. With Cryptoys we are building a rich, expansive world that combines elements of entertainment, gaming, and toys into an experience customers can truly own and take with them forever.”

Arianna Simpson, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz, added: “Cryptoys is a perfect example of the compelling new NFT gaming and entertainment experiences that are now possible with the advent of web3 — a fully-interactive 3D universe with custom toys for each participant. We’re thrilled to partner with the world-class team at OnChain Studios to bring Cryptoys to life and introduce the joys of NFT gaming to mainstream audiences.”

The first series of drops will consist of an original line of characters, with the Cryptoys universe then expanding from there. The company says “a number of well-known brands” are also looking into ways to leverage the full-stack Cryptoys platform to turn their IP into NFT-based interactive digital toys. 

In addition to NFT toys, OnChain Studios is also building an open world experience called The Cryptoyverse, which will allow users to play with their toys in a digital environment, with P2E (play-to-earn) mechanics. 

The Cryptoys platform is being built on Flow, the fast, easy-to-use, open blockchain with the biggest and fastest growing NFT marketplace.

Award Pool, the integrated platform that empowers brands, influencers and content creators to power up, grow, and engage communities with gamified play and NFT rewards, has reported “explosive” growth with 115,000 new users signing up and two million page views since its beta launch on 30 September, 2021. 

According to the platform, this growth highlights the early success and future potential of the platform and its ability to help brands and content creators gamify campaigns with social and in-game challenges catered to their communities. 

In addition, Award Pool will be launching The So.co Challenge, Music Reimagined! as the result of a previously announced partnership with So.co, a curated, image-based media platform that celebrates music, the related lifestyle, and associated cultural content. Together, Award Pool and So.co will promote a new opportunity for connecting musicians with fans by having them participate in challenges to earn points and NFT rewards, which will redefine the best strategies for audience growth and activation.  

Reuven Cohen, Founder and CEO of Award Pool, commented:“We are excited to see such opportunity and growth with the Award Pool beta and look forward to offering such opportunities to our partners and clients.” 

Award Pool is primarily designed to appeal to digital natives, particularly Gen Z, who appreciate both physical and digital rewards. Because this group doesn’t engage as frequently with traditional advertising channels, brands are having a difficult time connecting in a meaningful way. Award Pool solves this dilemma through its innovative new platform that allows users to participate in challenges, earn points, and redeem non-fungible token (NFT) prizes through an easy-to-use tool.

Award Pool has several additional upcoming challenges, including a partnership with the FC Tulsa football club. Fans will be asked to complete tasks, such as following the club’s profiles on social media and visiting specific pages on the team’s website, for a chance to win valuable NFTs and other prizes.