Fast Break Labs Raises $$6M in Seed Funding Round

Fast Break Labs, a Web 3 startup that was founded last year by former Meta Platforms employees Charles Du and John Wu, has raised $6 million in a seed funding round that was co-led by Pantera Capital and Patron, an early-stage venture capital firm.

• Fast Break Labs is creating the Virtual Basketball Association, an online fantasy sports league that lets gamers manage their own basketball team by building a roster and then competing against other virtual teams for prizes.
• Among the other investors in the round were Brooklyn Nets owner Joseph Tsai's family office; Marc Merrill and Thomas Vu of Riot Games, the developer of the League of Legends video game; and Sacramento Kings co-owner Aneel Ranadive.
• “We’re setting out to create a sports game that offers all basketball fans an opportunity to have a true ownership experience,” Du said in a statement. “While we’re primarily focused on creating a new and fun experience, it was also really important to us to give power back to gamers by allowing them to shape the direction of the game and accrue the economic benefits.”
• The game is built on the Solana blockchain and is similar to other play-to-earn games on the market. Gamers will need to buy a pack of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that are used as the players on a team’s roster.
• Fast Break Labs said the first pack of NFTs is expected to launch in late March for the first 2,000 players. The company hasn’t disclosed pricing.