This Dapper Labs company profile covers the company's valuation, revenue, funding rounds, investors and history. Dapper Labs works in web3, with a focus on blockchain and digital collectibles. It was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its latest valuation on record is US$7.6 billion (peak, reported via a source familiar with the deal) (September 2021). Every figure links to a public source, and anything the company hasn't disclosed is marked as such.
Revenue
| Metric | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layoffs | 22% (Nov 2022), 20% (Feb 2023), 51 people (2023); headcount down 43% in a year | July 2023 | BetaKit |
Funding history
| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2021 | Equity round | US$250M | US$7.6B (reported) | Coatue (lead); Andreessen Horowitz, GV, Version One Ventures, BOND, GIC | The Block |
| Mar 2021 | Equity round | US$305M | US$2.6B (reported) | Not detailed in source | The Block |
Dapper Labs timeline
Key dates from the sources on this page, oldest first. Metric snapshots are listed after the funding events.
- 2018 — Dapper Labs is founded in Vancouver by Roham Gharegozlou (CEO), with co-founders.
- Mar 2021 — Equity round: US$305M, valuing the company at US$2.6B (reported).
- Sep 2021 — Equity round: US$250M, valuing the company at US$7.6B (reported). Investors: Coatue (lead); Andreessen Horowitz, GV, Version One Ventures, BOND, GIC.
- July 2023 — Layoffs: 22% (Nov 2022), 20% (Feb 2023), 51 people (2023); headcount down 43% in a year.
Investors
Overview
Dapper Labs is the Vancouver company behind CryptoKitties, NBA Top Shot and the Flow blockchain. NBA Top Shot, which lets fans buy, sell and collect officially licensed video highlights as digital collectibles (NFTs), was one of the defining consumer products of the 2021 crypto boom. Dapper Labs spun out of the Vancouver studio Axiom Zen in 2018, and Roham Gharegozlou is its CEO.
Few companies show the boom-and-bust cycle of private tech valuations as clearly.
Funding and valuation
Dapper Labs raised large rounds in quick succession during 2021, as interest in NFTs exploded. It raised US$305 million in early 2021 at a reported US$2.6 billion valuation. Then, in September 2021, it closed a US$250 million round led by Coatue, with existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, GV (Google's venture arm) and Version One Ventures, and new investors BOND and Singapore's GIC. A source familiar with the deal told reporters it valued Dapper at US$7.6 billion. The company itself didn't confirm the figure.
Coverage differs slightly on the timing of the earlier round, so check the primary announcements if you need exact dates.
The downturn
NFT trading volumes collapsed in 2022, falling by around 97% from their peak according to reports. Dapper Labs responded with several rounds of layoffs: 22% of staff in November 2022, another 20% in February 2023 and 51 more people later in 2023. BetaKit reported headcount had fallen 43% in a year, to 361. The company also faced a class-action lawsuit alleging that NBA Top Shot collectibles were unregistered securities.
The CEO said at the time that both Dapper Labs and the Flow network remained well capitalised, and that Flow had a separate pool of capital with several years of runway.
Revenue: what's public
Dapper Labs hasn't published its revenue. Its income has historically come from primary sales of digital collectibles and fees on secondary trading in its marketplaces, both of which swing sharply with crypto market sentiment. That volatility is the main reason a peak valuation can be so far from a later one.
Lessons from Dapper Labs
- Last-round valuations can be stale. No new priced round means the US$7.6 billion figure isn't a current market value.
- Preferences matter after a boom. Investors who came in at the peak hold liquidation preferences that affect how any future sale is split.
- Revenue tied to a hype cycle is fragile. Investors now ask much harder questions about how durable revenue is.
What the Flow blockchain is
When CryptoKitties became popular in 2017, the surge in activity slowed the Ethereum network significantly. That experience convinced Dapper Labs that consumer-scale digital collectibles and games needed a blockchain designed for them. The result was Flow, launched as a separate network with its own token, built to handle large numbers of everyday transactions and to make onboarding easier for people who had never used crypto. NBA Top Shot ran on Flow and was its showcase application. Flow is meant to be used by other developers too, so its success depends on attracting applications beyond Dapper's own products.
The legal and regulatory backdrop
Digital collectibles sit in a grey area of securities law. A class-action lawsuit alleged that NBA Top Shot "Moments" were unregistered securities, and regulators in several countries have examined how NFTs and tokens should be treated. Outcomes in cases like these shape how companies design, market and sell digital collectibles. For any company in the space, legal costs and regulatory uncertainty are significant ongoing considerations, and they affect how investors value the business.
Lessons for founders in hype-driven markets
- Raise when you can, but spend as if you couldn't. Dapper raised large amounts during the boom, then had to cut staff heavily when the market turned. Keeping costs flexible makes downturns survivable.
- Separate your core business from the hype. Products that deliver value even when prices fall are more durable than those that depend on speculation.
- Licensing partners matter. Partnerships with major sports leagues gave Dapper credibility and reach that a pure crypto product couldn't, and those relationships remain valuable assets.
Competitive landscape
Dapper Labs competes on several fronts: with other blockchains for developers and users, with NFT marketplaces, and with traditional sports and entertainment companies that offer digital collectibles and fan experiences without blockchains. Licensing agreements with leagues are an important advantage but are also negotiated and renewed periodically.
What to watch next
Watch for developer adoption on Flow, new licensing partnerships, the direction of NFT and digital collectible markets, and developments in regulation and litigation. A new financing round, merger or sale would show how the market now values the company compared with its 2021 peak.
Key facts at a glance
Dapper Labs is a Vancouver company founded in 2018, led by CEO Roham Gharegozlou, behind CryptoKitties, NBA Top Shot and the Flow blockchain. It raised US$305 million in early 2021 at a reported US$2.6 billion valuation and US$250 million in September 2021 led by Coatue, at a reported US$7.6 billion. After the NFT market fell, it cut staff in several rounds in 2022 and 2023, reaching 361 employees by mid-2023.
Why sports leagues work with digital collectible companies
For leagues and players' associations, digital collectibles offer a new licensing revenue stream and a way to engage younger, global fans who may never attend a game in person. Licensing deals usually pay the rights holder a share of sales. For companies like Dapper, those licences are what make the products appealing, which gives leagues considerable bargaining power at renewal time.
Strong licensing relationships are among the most valuable and hardest-to-copy assets in this business.
What this means if you're…
Researching the company: look at recent product activity, hiring and the Flow ecosystem rather than relying on the 2021 valuation. See how to research a private company.
A Web3 founder: Dapper's experience shows why investors now favour more diversified, less speculative revenue.
Latest developments (October 2026)
Dapper Labs faced a difficult 2026 tied to the Flow blockchain it created. After a December 2025 exploit in which an attacker minted millions of duplicate FLOW tokens, major South Korean exchanges moved to delist FLOW, and in March 2026 the Flow Foundation and Dapper sought a court order in Seoul to suspend the delisting, according to industry reports summarised by Blockspot. Dapper has continued running NBA Top Shot and Disney Pinnacle and launched a consumer finance app called Peak Money. Its 2021 peak valuation of about US$7.6 billion is long out of date.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.
Frequently asked questions
What does Dapper Labs do?
Dapper Labs is a web3 / blockchain and digital collectibles company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 2018.
What is Dapper Labs's valuation?
Dapper Labs was valued at US$7.6 billion (peak, reported via a source familiar with the deal) as of September 2021, according to The Block. Private company valuations are set at funding rounds or share sales and can change significantly between them.
How much revenue does Dapper Labs make?
Dapper Labs is a private company and has not publicly disclosed its revenue. Figures on third-party sites are usually modelled estimates rather than numbers reported by the company.
What was Dapper Labs's latest funding round?
The most recent financing we have verified is a equity round in Sep 2021: US$250M, at a valuation of US$7.6B (reported). Source: The Block.
Who are Dapper Labs's investors?
Investors named in public announcements include Coatue, Andreessen Horowitz, GV, Version One Ventures, BOND and GIC.
Who founded Dapper Labs?
Dapper Labs was founded in 2018 by Roham Gharegozlou (CEO), with co-founders.
Is Dapper Labs a public company?
No. Dapper Labs is a private company (private, venture backed), so its shares are not traded on a stock exchange and it isn't required to publish its financial results.
Where is Dapper Labs headquartered?
Dapper Labs is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. See our guide to raising money in Canada for context on the Vancouver startup ecosystem.