Dapper Labs

Dapper Labs is a venture studio that builds consumer products around digital ownership, powered by Flow, an open blockchain network it created. Founded in 2018 as a spin-out of Axiom Zen by Roham Gharegozlou and Dieter Shirley, it makes collectibles, games and finance apps for fans, collectors, creators and savers.

The company says its mission is to build products and communities where ownership is real and the technology stays out of the way. Its "Open State Thesis" argues that crypto can make software state accessible by anyone, controlled by no one and trusted by everyone, built on four pillars: digital ownership, control over personal data, composability without platform risk, and governance without government. The studio describes every team member as a founder or founder-in-training, and runs an internal unit called The Foundry for rapid prototyping of new product ideas. Flow is now stewarded by an independent ecosystem rather than by Dapper Labs alone, and the site cites roughly 975 million transactions and 42 million accounts on the network.

• NBA Top Shot: officially licensed NBA highlight collectibles, with more than 1.6 million collectors and over $1.2 billion in sales (self-reported)
• NFL ALL DAY: officially licensed NFL collectibles, with 132,000+ collectors and $160 million+ in sales
• Disney Pinnacle: digital pin collecting and trading
• LaLiga Golazos: football collectibles
• CryptoKitties: an early NFT game with more than 2 million kitties and 400,000 players
• Peak Money: a consumer finance app with yield strategies and prize-linked accounts
• Flow and Dapper Wallet: the blockchain network and its companion wallet

Named partners include the NBA, Disney and PayPal, and the company reports more than 50 global brand partners. Other products include Miquela, a virtual influencer launched in 2016.

According to its website, Dapper Labs has raised over $500 million from 127 investors since 2018, with backers including a16z, Union Square Ventures, GV, Venrock, SV Angel, Samsung NEXT and Digital Currency Group. The site notes that the group behind Dapper Labs has been working on emerging technology since 2012, and cites a Fast Company ranking of the world's most innovative companies in which it placed among the top gaming firms.