NFT Maker Doodles Raises $54M in Seed Funding at $704M Valuation

Non-fungible token (NFT) maker Doodles, announced Tuesday that it has raised about $54 million in a just-concluded funding round which puts the company’s value at $704 million.

Per the announcement, the funding round was led by Seven Seven Six, the venture-capital firm created by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. The round also saw participation from 10T Holdings, Acrew Capital, and FTX Ventures.

Doodles Raise $54M to Build Ecosystem

Founded by digital artist Burnt Toast and Web 3 pioneers Evan Keast and Jordan Castro in 2021, Doodles are a collection of 10,000 generative NFTs that are made up of over a hundred visual traits of faces, hair, hats, body, and backgrounds. Its colorful profile pictures are one of the most popular in the market.

Notable collectors of Doodles include Justin Bieber, Future, Gary Vee, Snoop Dog, Fat Joe, Kygo, Diplo, and others.

Doodles said it aims to use the fresh capital “to scale its growth strategy and monetize [its] IP globally through ventures in music, culture and entertainment industries.”

Additionally, the fund will be used to tap talent in sectors such as creative, operations, and blockchain to enhance Doodles’ operations. The fresh capital will also fund the company’s product development.

Commenting on the funding, Doodles Chief Executive Officer Julian Holguin said:

“We’re thrilled to have Seven Seven Six believe in our vision to build the largest and most coveted web3 media brand worldwide, bridging consumer, culture, and entertainment. Our mission is to redefine what it means to be a world class intellectual property.” 

VCs Continue to Invest in Crypto Projects

The latest funding comes at a time when NFTs have been swept up amid the crypto bear market. Since the start of the crypto winter, the NFT market has slumped by more than 60%. 

Despite the market conditions, investors have continued to invest in crypto-related projects, which is an indication that they are thinking long-term.

In another report, Mysten Labs, a Web 3 infrastructure provider, raised $300 million in a Series B funding round from FTX Ventures, a16z crypto, Jump Crypto, Apollo, Binance Labs, O’Leary Ventures, Sino Global, Franklin Templeton, and others.