Paris-based startup Fungiball, which offers a platform where players can compete in a tennis game, earn rewards, and connect with coaches to improve their skills and careers, has secured €2.2 million in a pre-seed round to support international expansion and enhance its platform.
- Founded in 2022 by Jean Matias, Fungiball develops a fantasy sports platform for tennis, where users can buy, trade, and collect player cards through auctions and a secondary market.
- The platform features over 300 professional tennis players, allowing users to create custom players by combining skill cards that represent key abilities like serve, mental strength, return, and power.
- Players can compete in weekly tournaments inspired by the ATP calendar, using their strategic skills to climb the rankings and win rewards, including cryptocurrency, exclusive cards, and VIP experiences. Fungiball offers an engaging, immersive tennis experience while providing professional players with new revenue opportunities and increased fan interaction.
- The startup partnered with the well-known sports retailer Le Coq Sportif in May. Additionally, Fungiball has brought on tennis stars Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev as official ambassadors.
Details of the deal
- The pre-seed round came from business angels such as Adrien Dassault and Stephan Altmuller, along with additional support from Cliff Capital and BPI France.
- The fresh capital will allow the startup to expand its tech team, improve the user experience, and develop new features like free-to-play modes and fiat payment options. Moreover, it will focus on international expansion, particularly in North America, while also targeting regions with strong tennis fan bases, including Europe and Asia.
"Fungiball will fundamentally change the way tennis is experienced, empowering fans to own their passion and turning their engagement into something tangible and valuable. To our investors: Thank you for believing in a vision that’s bigger than any game. To our team: Your drive is turning this vision into reality," Founder and CEO at Fungiball, Jean Matias, commented.
