On Tuesday, non-fungible token (NFT) collection Doodle announced that it had raised $54 million at a valuation of $704 million in a funding round led by Seven Seven Six, with participation from 10T Holdings, Acre Capital and FTX Ventures. As reported by Doodles, this investment will allow it to scale up its growth strategy and monetize its intellectual property globally through ventures in the music, culture and entertainment industries.
Doodles is a collection of 10,000 NFTs, co-founded by digital artist Bernt Tost and web3 pioneers Evan Kest and Jordan Castro. Artistically, it is known for its colorful world and joyous cartoon character illustrations of skeletons, cats, aliens, apes and mascots molded on the Ethereum blockchain. The NFTs in the collection are hundreds of traits and hand-crafted. Blockchain development software firm Dapper Labs founded the company in 2021.
Earlier in March, Doodle invited its NFT holders for a special experience at the South by Southwest Festival in Texas. Users can visit doodle-themed locations to buy drinks, get their nails painted doodles, order refreshments, and have their NFTs displayed throughout the display.
Regarding the new fundraising, Caitlin Holloway, founding partner of Seven Seven Six, said:
“We believe Doodle is developing the next digital frontier in how we experience and create content, unlocking the true value behind NFTs. Doodle is changing that storytelling through blockchain. re-imagining how the world connects and interacts.”
Since its launch in October 2021, the Doodle collection has surpassed 148,500 Ether (ETH) traded on OpenSE with a floor price of 8.4 ETH. Notable collectors include Justin Bieber, Future, Gary V, Snoop Dogg, Fat Joe, Kygo, Diplo, Steve Aoki, and Pranksey.
