Zora Labs builds an NFT protocol and marketplace that allows artists and developers to create NFT marketplaces and collections. It operates its own primary marketplace where users can list NFTs, but the vast majority of NFTs sold on its protocol occur on third‑party sites. Crypto organizations such as Mirror and FWB have leveraged Zora’s protocol to sell NFTs to community members. The company recently raised $50 million in a funding round led by Haun Ventures, valuing Zora Labs at $600 million. Other investors in the round include Coinbase Ventures and Kindred Ventures. Katie Haun's involvement is notable given she led OpenSea's Series B while at a16z and earned a seat on OpenSea's board. Zora operates a creator-focused marketplace where creators set a start price and max price for tokens; as buyers trade those tokens the price moves and creators capture proceeds from initial sales and trading fees. The platform’s core product includes dynamic price curves for primary drops and ongoing participation in secondary-market value, plus Ethereum-based community tokens used to unite and reward fans. Zora launched the $RAC token for musician RAC as a token that is earned (not directly purchasable) and redeemable for merch and experiences. Early releases have shown strong secondary-market performance—Jeff Staple’s sneakers trended up ~234% post-release, a Benji Taylor x Kevin Doan vinyl figure rose ~210%, and RAC’s tape BOY last traded at $3,713 (up 18,465%). Founded in May 2020, the team includes Dee Goens (Creators and Community), Jacob Horne (Product), Slava Kim (Design) and several engineers. The company plans to build a self-service version of the marketplace so creators can launch products without direct partnerships while continuing to develop community-token functionality.

Total raised

$52M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

May 2022