This archive report was first published on 5 January 2022.
Founded in 2017, OpenSea has become a central marketplace for buying and selling nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, unique pieces of digital code backed by blockchain technology.
On Tuesday, OpenSea announced that it had raised $300 million in new venture capital, led by Paradigm and Coatue Management, bringing its valuation to a staggering $13.3 billion just four years after its founding.
The new funding round, which brings OpenSea's total funding to over $400 million, includes investments from prominent firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Ashton Kutcher.
OpenSea's NFT marketplace has seen significant growth in recent months, with more than $3 billion invested in NFT companies in 2021 alone, according to data compiled by PitchBook.
As the company continues to expand, it plans to use the new funding to add to its team of over 90 employees, while doubling the size of its trust and safety team.
OpenSea also plans to invest heavily in product development to make its blockchain technology more accessible to mainstream consumers, and will soon launch a grant program to support creators and blockchain builders in the NFT space.
“In 2021, the world woke up to the potential of NFTs to unlock utility and economic empowerment across a vast set of industries, communities and creative categories,” said Devin Finzer, one of the founders and the chief executive of OpenSea.
