Sorare Public-Source Startup Diligence Report
Advance only to confirmatory diligence if private data proves durable paid-user economics and regulatory compliance after the NFT/crypto downturn. Upside depends on Sorare converting scarce sports IP, fantasy gameplay and digital ownership into recurring entertainment revenue; the main underwriting risks are gambling/JONUM regulation, license-renewal cost, heavy-spender concentration, digital-asset volatility and a stale 2021 valuation anchor.
Sorare Public-Source Startup Diligence Report
Sorare is a credible private unicorn candidate: CB Insights lists the company at $4.3B, TechCrunch reported a $680M Series B led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at the same valuation, and independent/partner sources verify meaningful sports IP relationships with the Premier League, NBA/NBPA and a broad football-club ecosystem. The investability question is unresolved because the public record is much stronger on brand partnerships and historical financing than on current revenue quality, retention, paid-user concentration, cash runway, license liabilities, regulatory clearance or wallet/ blockchain risk controls.
Public evidence supports historical funding and GMV signals but not revenue, margin, cash runway, debt, retention or payback.
Diligence request: Require audited financials, KPI pack, GMV-to-revenue bridge, cash/debt and cohort economics.
UKGC and ANJ evidence shows meaningful classification and compliance exposure that could constrain product design or market access.
Diligence request: Obtain legal opinions, regulatory correspondence, jurisdiction matrix, age-gating/KYC/AML and responsible-play evidence.
The $4.3B valuation is from 2021; CNBC later documented substantial NFT-market declines.
Diligence request: Re-underwrite valuation using current net revenue, paid user retention, cash runway and market comps.
Product differentiation depends on league, club and player rights; economics and renewal terms are private.
Diligence request: Review all material IP licenses, exclusivity, minimum guarantees, renewals, termination rights and warrants.
CNBC reported 87% of users did not spend money, implying revenue may depend on a concentrated payer base.
Diligence request: Request paid-user cohorts, whale concentration, retention, responsible-play interventions and ARPPU distribution.
Public registered-user counts are large, but active paid conversion and retention are not public.
Diligence request: Request DAU/MAU, paid active users, churn, cohort retention and spend distribution.
NFT/card ownership, wallet, marketplace and scoring dependencies require security and controls diligence.
Diligence request: Review security audits, wallet custody, chain-migration, sports data SLAs, incident logs and insurance.
Sorare competes for sports-fan time/spend against well-funded fantasy, betting, game and NFT-marketplace players.
Diligence request: Request win/loss, CAC, paid retention, license-bid history and competitive pricing analysis.
Sorare's 2021 $4.3B valuation and $680M Series B are public, but revenue, profitability, cash runway, cap table and current valuation support are private.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public sources disclose historical trading-volume and monetization mechanics, but not audited statements, revenue, gross margin, cash, debt or cohort economics.
| item | public evidence | diligence need |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 Series B | $680M led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at $4.3B valuation | Financing documents, valuation model and cap table |
| 2021 card trading volume | $150M traded since January 2021; 51x sales growth Q2 2020 to Q2 2021 | Reconcile GMV to revenue and cash receipts |
| 2022 card exchanges | $500M card exchanges in 2022, almost doubling from $270M in 2021 | Net revenue, fees, refunds and paid-user concentration |
GMV/card-exchange values are not revenue.
| metric | signal | verification status | follow up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue model | New-card issuance and transaction cuts are publicly described | partially_verified | Revenue by stream, take-rate and gross margin |
| Paid conversion | CNBC reported 87% of players did not spend money | partially_verified | Paid-user cohorts and payer concentration |
| Cash runway | Not publicly disclosed | not_publicly_verifiable | Cash, debt, burn and runway schedule |
Public GMV should not be treated as revenue without reconciliation.
Timeline does not include private events.
partially verified confidence: high
The public valuation anchor is strong for 2021, but cap table, liquidation preferences, option pool, warrants and current mark are not public.
| stakeholder | public position | caveat |
|---|---|---|
| SoftBank Vision Fund 2 | Led the $680M Series B | Share class, preference and ownership percentage not public |
| Benchmark, Accel and other venture investors | CB Insights and NBPA list Benchmark/Accel/SoftBank among investors | Full cap table and pro-rata rights not public |
| Premier League | CNBC reported equity warrants as part of the Premier League deal | Warrant strike, vesting, dilution and performance conditions not public |
Public evidence is insufficient to calculate fully diluted ownership.
Values are public-source anchors only.
Sorare offers football, NBA and MLB fantasy products using scarce digital player cards and real-world performance scoring, but product economics and security controls require private validation.
verified confidence: high
Public sources support football, NBA and MLB product availability, lineup gameplay and rewards, with NFTs/digital collectibles central to the paid-card proposition.
| product | audience | public evidence | verification status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fantasy football / soccer | Global football fans and collectors | TechCrunch described fantasy football NFT cards and 180 football organization partnerships | verified |
| Sorare NBA | Basketball fans | NBPA announced official NFT fantasy partnership with NBA/NBPA | verified |
| Sorare MLB | Baseball fans | Sorare site links Fantasy MLB; Wikipedia summarizes MLB launch and partnership | partially_verified |
Product-level revenue and retention are not public.
This is a public-source conceptual architecture, not a system diagram from management.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public evidence shows card purchases, transactions, free-to-play modes and rewards, but fee schedules, wallet risk controls and card-liquidity protections are not fully public.
| mechanic | evidence | risk or gap |
|---|---|---|
| New card issuance | TechCrunch says Sorare generated revenue by issuing new cards | Requires supply, pricing and revenue-recognition policy |
| Transaction fees/cuts | CNBC says Sorare takes an unspecified cut of transactions | Requires fee schedule and marketplace liquidity data |
| Rewards and ETH/cash language | Sorare site markets rewards including cash or ETH | Requires jurisdiction-specific consumer-protection and responsible-play analysis |
Reward mechanics should be reviewed by counsel in each jurisdiction.
Sorare has public evidence of millions of registered users and major sports partners, but paid-user quality, spender concentration, churn and contract economics are private.
verified confidence: high
TechCrunch reported 600,000 registered users and 150,000 monthly active buyers/team composers in 2021; NBPA reported two million registered users in 2022; CNBC reported three million users in 2023.
| relationship or metric | public evidence | gap |
|---|---|---|
| Football organizations | 180 football organizations, including Real Madrid, Liverpool and Juventus | Contract economics and renewal rights |
| Premier League | Four-year official player-card license and equity warrants | Commercial terms, warrants and renewal economics |
| NBA/NBPA | Multi-year official NFT fantasy partner with NBA logo rights | Minimum guarantees and product performance |
| Users | 600,000 registered users in 2021; two million in 2022; three million in 2023 | Active paid cohorts and churn |
Registered users are not equivalent to active paying users.
Public user figures are not independently audited.
partially verified confidence: medium
Product delivery depends on sports IP licensors, sports data/scoring, marketplace/payment rails, blockchain infrastructure and consumer trust in digital collectibles.
| dependency | role | public evidence | diligence request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports IP licensors | Official cards, logos and athlete/team rights | Premier League and NBA/NBPA agreements; football clubs | Executed licenses and renewal calendar |
| Blockchain and wallet infrastructure | Scarcity, ownership, settlement and transfers | Ethereum NFT model described publicly; secondary sources describe later infrastructure changes | Architecture, custody, security audits and incident logs |
| Sports data/scoring | Real-world performance scoring | Public summaries describe real-world performance-based scoring | Data-provider contracts and SLA history |
Supplier concentration cannot be quantified publicly.
Sorare competes across fantasy sports, sports betting-adjacent entertainment, digital collectibles and NFT marketplaces; sports IP breadth is a differentiator but not a permanent moat without renewals.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public evidence supports Sorare's differentiated sports-license portfolio, but competition includes fantasy sports incumbents, sports betting operators, collectibles platforms and blockchain games.
| competitor | segment | overlap | sorare differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|
| DraftKings / FanDuel | Fantasy sports and betting-adjacent entertainment | Compete for sports-fan gaming time and wallet | NFT/card ownership and licensed collectibles |
| Dapper Labs / NBA Top Shot | Sports NFT collectibles | Compete for digital sports collectible spend | Fantasy gameplay across multiple sports |
| Generic NFT marketplaces | Digital-asset trading | Compete for collectible liquidity and user attention | Official sports licenses and performance-based gameplay |
Competitor revenue/funding comparisons require additional market databases.
Competitor placement is public-source analyst judgment.
partially verified confidence: medium
Defensibility appears to rest on league/club licenses, community liquidity, gameplay design and brand, but each factor requires private measurement.
| axis | sorare position | diligence caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Sports IP | Strong public evidence of major licenses | Renewal terms and guarantees are private |
| Marketplace liquidity | Large historical card-exchange volumes reported | Current volume, spread and paid-user concentration are private |
| Regulatory adaptability | Product changes and JONUM framework are public | Ongoing compliance evidence and UK status need counsel review |
Scores are qualitative public-source diligence judgments.
Sorare distributes through league partnerships, star investors/ambassadors, owned product channels and marketplace virality; paid marketing efficiency and channel mix are not public.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public sources show major license-led distribution and marketplace monetization, but CAC, sales efficiency and channel-level payback are private.
| channel | evidence | gap |
|---|---|---|
| League/club partnerships | Premier League, NBA/NBPA and football-club relationships | Partner attribution, revenue and cost by launch |
| Product marketplaces | Sorare site links football, MLB and NBA markets | Conversion, take-rate and liquidity by marketplace |
| Ambassadors/investors | NBPA and CNBC identify athlete/star backers and shareholders | Contractual obligations and conversion impact |
No CAC/payback data was public.
No public channel-spend data was found.
partially verified confidence: medium
Sorare has public owned-channel, partner and ambassador signals, but community health and paid conversion are not independently verified.
| signal | evidence | diligence question |
|---|---|---|
| Owned product/community channels | Sorare site links community, blog, FAQ, game rules and markets | What conversion and retention come from each owned channel? |
| Product news cadence | Blog index showed recent football, NBA and MLB update posts | How do releases affect paid conversion and churn? |
| Star/shareholder credibility | CNBC and NBPA cite athlete shareholders/backers including Messi, Serena Williams and Kylian Mbappe | What are economics and obligations of ambassador deals? |
Public marketing signals do not establish efficient growth.
Public product materials show active gameplay updates and a blockchain-based collectible architecture, but internal R&D staffing, roadmap delivery and security posture are not public.
partially verified confidence: medium
Sorare's public site and blog show active football, NBA and MLB product surfaces and recent gameplay/news posts; internal roadmap and budget remain private.
| initiative | public status | diligence need |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-sport product expansion | Football, NBA and MLB surfaces are public | Product-level engagement and roadmap |
| Gameplay updates | Blog index shows ongoing football, NBA and MLB news/update posts | Release success metrics and QA/incident logs |
| Regulatory product changes | CNBC reported French ANJ-driven changes emphasizing free-to-play elements | Compliance roadmap and product-impact analysis |
Internal engineering roadmap was not public.
Internal roadmap was unavailable.
partially verified confidence: medium
Sorare's model depends on scarce digital collectibles, wallets, blockchain settlement and sports-data scoring; detailed controls are not public.
| domain | public signal | required private evidence |
|---|---|---|
| NFT/card ownership | TechCrunch described unique cards on Ethereum | Smart-contract audits, chain-migration and custody controls |
| Sports scoring data | Public summaries describe real-world performance-based scoring | Data-provider contracts, SLAs and dispute processes |
| User wallet/payments | Public materials imply ETH/cash rewards and marketplaces | KYC/AML, custody, fraud, chargeback and sanctions controls |
Security posture requires direct technical diligence.
Public sources verify founders/executive leadership signals and Paris/New York operations, but headcount, turnover, compensation and org depth are private.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public sources identify Nicolas Julia as co-founder/CEO and Wikipedia identifies Nicolas Julia and Adrien Montfort as developers/founders; board and governance rights are not public.
| person or group | public role | source | gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicolas Julia | Co-founder and CEO | NBPA partnership announcement | Employment terms, succession and board role |
| Adrien Montfort | Co-developer/founder per secondary source | Wikipedia | Current role, equity and IP assignment |
| Board/investor governance | Not publicly disclosed in detail | Public-source review | Board composition, veto rights and related-party transactions |
Roster is not a complete management list.
Not a complete org chart.
not publicly verifiable confidence: low
Public sources support Paris and New York operations, but headcount by function, attrition and employee obligations are not publicly verifiable.
| area | public signal | diligence gap |
|---|---|---|
| Locations | NBPA describes Paris and New York operations | Entity structure, employment counts and local compliance |
| Compliance/trust and safety | Regulatory framework requires age-gating, moderation and AML controls in covered contexts | Staffing, policies and audit evidence |
| Turnover | Not publicly verifiable | HRIS, attrition, critical-role succession and contractor agreements |
Public headcount data was not reliable enough for quantitative underwriting.
Sorare has material public regulatory exposure around gambling/JONUM and digital collectibles; litigation, IP records and license contracts need counsel-led diligence.
verified confidence: high
The UK Gambling Commission issued a 2021 consumer notice and said it was carrying out enquiries; CNBC reported French ANJ-driven product changes, and ANJ materials describe the JONUM framework and obligations.
| jurisdiction | public matter | status or requirement | diligence need |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | UKGC consumer information notice | UKGC said Sorare.com was not licensed and enquiries were ongoing | Counsel memo, current status and operating restrictions |
| France | ANJ / JONUM framework | Declaration, adult access, advertising, moderation and AML-related obligations for covered JONUM operators | Declaration filings, compliance controls and legal analysis |
| France | Product changes after ANJ action | CNBC reported changes including stronger free-to-play elements | Confirm implementation and business impact |
This is not a legal opinion.
Heatmap reflects public-source diligence priority, not legal advice.
partially verified confidence: medium
Public evidence verifies major IP licenses, but contract terms, infringement exposure, pending lawsuits and trademark/patent status were not fully verified.
| asset | public status | diligence caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Football club/league licenses | TechCrunch reported 180 football organization partnerships; CNBC reported Premier League deal | Terms, exclusivity and minimum guarantees private |
| NBA/NBPA rights | Official NFT Fantasy Partner with NBA logo rights | Contract economics and renewal rights private |
| Sorare brand/trademarks | Not fully searched in this public-source pass | Counsel should run trademark, domain and infringement searches |
Executed contracts are required for legal diligence.
| category | public evidence | diligence request |
|---|---|---|
| Pending lawsuits against company | Not publicly verified in this pass | Counsel-certified litigation search in France, UK, U.S. and key markets |
| Pending lawsuits initiated by company | Not publicly verified in this pass | Counsel-certified docket and IP enforcement search |
| Regulatory disputes | UKGC inquiry and French/JONUM regulatory framework are public | Current regulator correspondence and legal opinions |
Lack of public docket evidence is not evidence of no claims.
| ID | Claim | Status | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC-001 | CB Insights lists Sorare as a $4.30B unicorn in France / Saint Mande, in Media & Entertainment, with Benchmark, Accel and SoftBank Group listed as investors. | verified high | SRC-001 |
| EC-002 | TechCrunch reported Sorare raised a $680M Series B led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a $4.3B valuation. | verified high | SRC-002 |
| EC-003 | Sorare's core product uses fantasy sports digital cards/NFTs, and TechCrunch reported revenue from issuing new cards. | verified high | SRC-002 |
| EC-004 | TechCrunch reported 180 football organization partnerships, $150M card trading since January 2021, 600,000 registered users, 150,000 monthly active buyers/team composers and 51x sales growth between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021. | verified high | SRC-002 |
| EC-005 | CNBC reported a four-year Premier League licensing agreement, 3 million worldwide users, equity warrants for the Premier League and last investor valuation of $4.3B. | verified high | SRC-003 |
| EC-006 | CNBC reported NFT market declines, Sorare 2022 card exchanges of $500M, 87% of users not spending money, and an unspecified transaction cut. | verified high | SRC-003 |
| EC-007 | CNBC reported UK Gambling Commission investigation and French ANJ-driven product changes, including stronger free-to-play elements. | verified high | SRC-003 |
| EC-008 | NBPA announced an NBA/NBPA multi-year Sorare partnership, official NFT fantasy partner rights, two million registered users across 185 countries, and Paris/New York operations. | verified high | SRC-004 |
| EC-009 | Sorare's public site markets football, NBA and MLB products, lineup gameplay, rewards, markets, game rules and policy links. | verified medium | SRC-005SRC-009 |
| EC-010 | Secondary public summaries identify Nicolas Julia and Adrien Montfort as Sorare developers/founders, summarize football/basketball/baseball products, and describe blockchain infrastructure changes. | partially verified low | SRC-006 |
| EC-011 | The UK Gambling Commission issued a 2021 notice stating Sorare.com was not licensed and that it was carrying out enquiries into whether an operating license was required. | verified high | SRC-007 |
| EC-012 | ANJ materials describe the JONUM framework for monetizable digital objects, including declaration, adult-access, advertising, moderation, data and AML-related obligations. | verified high | SRC-008 |
| EC-013 | Public sources do not disclose audited financials, cap table, cash runway, complete legal docket, full license economics, detailed headcount or current valuation support. | not publicly verifiable high | |
| EC-014 | Sports IP licenses are central to Sorare's differentiation and create renewal/minimum-guarantee diligence risk. | partially verified medium | SRC-002SRC-003SRC-004 |
| EC-015 | Sorare's public blog index showed recent football, NBA and MLB product-update posts in May 2026, indicating visible product activity. | partially verified medium | SRC-010 |
| ID | Publisher | Title | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| SRC-001 | CB Insights | The Complete List Of Unicorn Companies | 2026-05-19 |
| SRC-002 | TechCrunch | Sorare raises $680 million for its fantasy sports NFT game | 2026-05-19 |
| SRC-003 | CNBC | Premier League signs deal with NFT-based fantasy soccer game despite crypto downturn | 2026-05-19 |
| SRC-004 | National Basketball Players Association | NBA and NBPA Team up with Sorare to Launch Free-to-Play Fantasy Basketball Game | 2026-05-19 |
| SRC-005 | Sorare | Sorare homepage / product navigation | 2026-05-19 |
| SRC-006 | Wikipedia | Sorare | 2026-05-19 |
| SRC-007 | UK Gambling Commission | Consumer information notice: Sorare.com | 2026-05-19 |
| SRC-008 | Autorite Nationale des Jeux | Jeux a objets numeriques monetisables (JONUM) | 2026-05-19 |
| SRC-009 | Sorare | Sorare terms and policy navigation | 2026-05-19 |
| SRC-010 | Sorare | Sorare blog index | 2026-05-19 |
This report is a public-evidence diligence snapshot, not investment advice. Important financial, legal, technical, and contractual facts remain non-public and should be verified directly with management and primary documents before any investment decision.