Berlin-based technology company FUEL has raised €1.5m for its NFT platform.
The platform - billed as ‘Shopify for NFTs’ - enables creators to build their own custom-branded NFT shop without any technical knowledge required. It means that creators can launch, manage and grow their NFT collection using a broad range of tools integrated under the roof of the FUEL platform.
FUEL, founded by Csongor Barabasi, Thanh Binh Tran, Stefan Tietze and Patrice Deckert, is aiming to bring NFTs further into the mainstream.
“Last year, $25bn worth of NFTs were traded globally, up from $95m in 2020, and artists like Steve Aoki, Nas, Grimes, and brands like Lamborghini entered the space,” said Tietze and Deckert, co-founders of FUEL.“The art establishment also sees value in the space, with brokers like Sotheby’s entering the market.”
The pre-seed round has attracted major institutions in the market, including NYC-based FintechCollective (a shareholder of OpenSea), London-based Seedcamp (investors in Sorare, Hopin and Revolut) and Notion Capital with their pre-seed vehicle, Pioneers. International business angels and experts who joined the round include Bitstamp CTO David Osojnik, Gumtree co-founder Michael Pennington and Indeed founder Paul Forster.
"Even though we see growing adoption, NFTs are still in an early phase,” said Barabasi. “Currently, the barrier of entry for creators is very high. The market has outgrown the basic sales functionality of aggregation platforms like OpenSea, and creators need more tools to succeed in the next phase.”
The company is working with Tomorrowland DJs Mat.Joe and several other yet-to-be-announced top artists and labels. It is aiming to launch several NFT drops in the coming weeks.
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