Dapper Labs is one of the most influential names in Web3. Best known for creating viral hits like CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, the Vancouver-based company also developed the Flow blockchain, a network built specifically to handle the demands of large-scale NFT projects.
How Dapper Labs Got Started
Dapper Labs traces its roots back to Axiom Zen, a Canadian software studio that built CryptoKitties in 2017. The quirky game of breeding and trading cartoon cats became the first viral blockchain app, so popular it famously clogged the Ethereum network and exposed its scalability limits.
Seeing the potential of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), Axiom Zen spun out Dapper Labs in 2018, raising $12.3 million in its first funding round led by a16z and Union Square Ventures. By the end of that year, it had attracted another $15 million from investors including Google’s and Samsung’s venture arms, while recruiting talent from gaming giants like Ubisoft and Disney.
Roham Gharegozlou has led the company as CEO since launch, while Dieter Shirley—co-creator of the ERC-721 NFT standard—served as CTO until early 2024 before moving to the Flow Foundation.
To date, Dapper Labs has raised over $666 million in funding, including a blockbuster $305 million round in 2021.
The Flow Blockchain
After Ethereum’s limitations became clear during the CryptoKitties boom, Dapper Labs set out to build a network better suited for NFTs and gaming. The result was Flow, launched in 2020.
Flow’s architecture assigns different tasks to different types of nodes, distributing workloads more efficiently. This design allows Flow to scale without relying on sharding, while keeping transactions secure.
Key features of Flow include:
- Walletless onboarding: Users can sign up without needing a separate crypto wallet.
- Developer tools: A simplified programming language and tutorials for writing smart contracts and minting assets.
- FLOW token: Used for transaction fees and staking in its proof-of-stake system.
Today, Flow powers all of Dapper Labs’ apps and games, along with third-party projects.
Breakout NFT Projects
CryptoKitties
Launched in 2017, CryptoKitties was the first NFT project to hit mainstream attention. By late 2018, there were already 1 million CryptoKitties NFTs in circulation. In 2021, the game migrated from Ethereum to Flow.
NBA Top Shot
In 2019, Dapper Labs partnered with the NBA to launch NBA Top Shot, a digital marketplace for basketball highlights packaged as tradable NFTs called “Moments.” Within its first year, Top Shot attracted over a million users and has since generated $1.2 billion in sales. As of late 2024, it counts 1.6 million registered users.
Disney Pinnacle
In December 2023, Dapper announced Disney Pinnacle, a platform turning Disney’s iconic characters and IP into NFT “digital pins.” As of late 2024, the project remains in waitlist mode but has drawn attention from collectors and Disney fans alike.
Challenges and Controversies
In June 2024, Dapper Labs settled a class-action lawsuit by paying $4 million to investors who alleged NBA Top Shot moments were sold as unregistered securities. As part of the agreement, the company pledged to further decentralize the Flow blockchain, including transferring its remaining FLOW tokens to the Flow Foundation.
Why Dapper Labs Matters
Dapper Labs isn’t just another gaming studio—it’s one of the companies that helped NFTs break into mainstream culture. From pioneering early digital collectibles to building an entire blockchain to support them, Dapper has played a central role in shaping how people think about ownership in the digital age.
With Flow underpinning not just its own apps but also third-party projects, Dapper Labs continues to influence the future of NFTs, gaming, and Web3 adoption.
