Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly in advanced talks to lead a funding round for Yuga Labs, the company behind the popular NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club, in an investment that could value the company at $5 billion.
A valuation that high may seem outlandish at first glance, but the rising popularity of non-fungible tokens among the investors could justify such lofty valuations.
At least for now.
The funding round is expected to be for at least $200 million, Axios reported, and the company is seeking a valuation of $5 billion according to industry insider NFT Nick.
Neither Andreessen Horowitz nor Yuga Labs immediately returned a request for comment.
Yuga Labs is in talks about selling a multimillion-dollar stake to Andreessen , which has invested heavily in the crypto space and is reportedly looking to raise $3.5 billion for a crypto venture fund and another $1 billion for digital asset startups.
The firm raised $2.2 billion in June for its Crypto Fund III, which at the time was the industry's largest.
The NFT marketplace exploded in 2021, generating over $23 billion in trading volume last year, according to blockchain analytics company DappRadar. That total was up from less than $100 million the year prior.
NFT Funding Is Exploding
The timing of Yuga's funding round couldn't be better.
Earlier this week, rival Pixel Vault raised $100 million in a funding round that was led by Adam Bain and Dick Costolo's 01 Advisors and Velvet Sea Ventures just months after the company's first launch in May.
Pixel Vault's comic book inspired aesthetic has it just behind Bored Apes as the third-most popular NFT. The top spot belongs to CryptoPunks, according to Axios.
Yuga, Bored Apes Have Celebrity Push
Yuga makes money by selling the NFTs and also getting a small percentage when the NFT is resold on the blockchain.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club is by far the company's most popular collection. There are only 10,000 apes in the collection and the minimum cost to purchase one is 93 ether, or about $224,000.
Celebrities like Paris Hilton, Jimmy Fallon and Eminem all have their own special apes.
Some Bored Ape NFTs fetching more than $1 million at auction
