Quick take:
- Game of Silks has announced a $5 million Seed 2 round from a group of strategic investors.
- The company is building a blockchain fantasy sports platform that mirrors the real world of horse racing.
- A Game of Silks NFT tracks different attributes of a horse as it exists in the real world from the day the horse is born.
Blockchain Fantasy Sports platform Game of Silks has announced a $5 million Seed 2 round from a group of strategic investors. The fantasy horse racing company is building a platform that uses blockchain technology to track different attributes of real-life racing horses.
According to the Silks website, the game uses NFTs “to track the lineage, physical traits, development, and productivity of the horse as it exists in the real world from the day the horse is born.”
Players collect digital gaming assets that track the careers of the horses and win rewards when the horses win races and breed in the real world.
The Game of Silks boasts of being the first blockchain gaming platform to mirror the real world of thoroughbred horse racing. This fundraising comes at a time when Web3 funding is declining, after falling for the seventh consecutive quarter since Q4, 2021.
Highlighting the challenges of raising funds in a bear market, Silks CEO and Co-Founder, Dan Nissanoff said: “Securing this funding in such a difficult economic environment is a testament to the promise of blockchain gaming and a nod to our early success as one of the few companies growing rapidly in the space. In a market where most companies are struggling to secure capital, we’ve demonstrated that the category of blockchain fantasy sports is alive and well, and poised to redefine fan engagement in the sport of kings.”
Game of Silks plans to use the fresh capital to continue building its platform as it aims to usher in a new era of gaming, where gamified collectibles are used to connect people with real-world horse racing. “We are reshaping the future of horse racing, blockchain gaming, and fantasy sports.”
The announcement also comes at the back of completing a series of partnership agreements with some of the leading players in the sport of horse racing. Game of Silks has partnered with industry juggernauts including NYRA, NYRA BETS, Saratoga Race Track, Belmont Race Track, Aqueduct, and FOX Sports’ Americas Best Racing.
The company also recently sealed a partnership with one of the most iconic sport of kings organisations The Jockey Club, founded in 1894.
Duncan Taylor of Taylor Made, the world’s largest seller of thoroughbred racehorses, and one of the strategic investors in this round thinks Game of Silks will transform the future of horse racing. “Investing in this round signifies more than a financial commitment – it marks our dedication to forging a partnership that will invigorate and elevate the sport to its glory days when horse racing was the largest spectator sport in the US,” Taylor said.
Lloyd Purser of FunFair Ventures, another investor in this round commented: “We’ve looked at countless Web 3.0 gaming platforms and found Game of Silks to be one of the most innovative and compelling use cases for blockchain technology.”
Silks previously raised $2 million in a venture round in April 2021 and a further $150,000 in April last year. The latest round brings the total disclosed fundraisings to about $7.15 million, most of which came during the crypto winter.
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