Dibbs, a real-time fractional sports card marketplace, says it has received a $13 million Series A financing round that includes investments from some well-known current athletes.
Dibbs allows collectors to buy and sell physical cards, but also trade fractional interests of higher value cards 24/7. The fractional ownership model allows users to instantly trade any amount of interest in a card on live order books. If you believe in a certain player, you can instantly purchase shares of a quantity of some of his cards.
The new capital, which comes on the heels of a $2.8 million seed round announced in March, enables Dibbs to “scale its team, add new product verticals, and expand globally,” according to the company.
During its limited iOS, invite-only beta that ended earlier this month, Dibbs says it processed millions of dollars across more than 110,000 trades. Dibbs recently became available to all US-based users across iOS, Android, and the web.
Among the investors in the new round of funding are Foundry Group. Tusk Venture Partners, Courtside Ventures, and Founder Collective along with a syndicate of s athletes, including Chris Paul, Channing Frye, DeAndre Hopkins, Kevin Love, Kris Bryant, and Skylar Diggins-Smith.
The initial round of funding earlier this year included PSA CEO Nat Turner and former NBA player Channing Frye.
“Our mission is to empower all fans to connect, collect, and capitalize on the real-time action inherent in sports. The Dibbs platform makes traditional collectibles more accessible and brings them to the forefront of fandom. We believe our easy-to-use, mobile-first platform makes collectible trading an essential part of the fan experience.”
“Evan and the Dibbs team are transforming traditional collectible marketplaces by eliminating significant barriers to entry: rising card prices, data fragmentation, lack of liquidity, and fee sensitivity,” said Foundry Group Co-founder and Managing Director, Seth Levine. “We’re thrilled to back an ambitious team creating an entirely new and exciting market that truly puts fans and collectors at the core of their product and technology.”
“Social media was just the beginning. As new digital platforms are created, what it means to be a fan evolves and it creates new meaningful ways to connect with fans,” said Paul, the veteran Phoenix Suns guard who is part of the new round of funding “Dibbs levels the playing field for fans for whom the current collectibles market is inaccessible. I’m excited to support Evan and the team as they enable fans to engage in new ways with the athletes they care about most.”
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, today’s financing brings Dibbs’ total funding to $15.8 million.
