Today, Vancouver-based Dapper Labs announced $11 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Warner Music Group, among others. The firm also revealed its latest blockchain platform, named Flow, aimed at the entertainment industry. Leading video game developer Ubisoft is one of the new partners working on Flow.
Dapper Labs created the popular CryptoKitties app and has since built an engagement-focused collectables game with the NBA. Now looking to break further into entertainment, backing from Warner Music is a big step in the right direction. The firm is one of the world’s top three recording companies, operating in over 50 countries.
With Flow, Dapper Labs hopes to build blockchain-based games, verify authentic digital collectables, and run fan tokens for music artists and sports personalities. Warner Music represents some of the biggest names in the music industry and could be vital in releasing blockchain fan tokens to the mainstream.
“Warner Music is always searching for new opportunities for our artists and has dedicated itself to exploring emerging technologies to enable these,” stated Jeff Bronikowski, Head of Innovation and Emerging Technology at Warner Music Group. “When we met with Dapper Labs, they immediately understood our vision so we sought to solidify the partnership through this strategic investment.”
In addition to Warner Music, Dapper Labs announced the support of Ubisoft in the form of a partnership. The games giant is advising on Flow and its development for enterprise use.
Blockchain Initiative Director at Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab, Nicolas Pouard, said: “We are eager to learn more from Dapper Labs, some of the most talented pioneers in the field of blockchain-gaming, while bringing our own experience of the gaming industry and triple-A development.”
He added: “As a player-centric technology, we believe blockchain can help make players true stakeholders and we can’t wait to see what we will achieve with this partnership.”
Flow is slated for release in 2020 as a platform for decentralized applications in music, sports, and gaming.
