Rario’s Founders, Supporters Exit Amid Shake-Up

According to reports, Rario’s founders have left the company two years after it first launched. Rario is a Polygon-based platform that issues nonfungible tokens (NFTs) tied to cricket.

As investors at the business take a bigger role in decision-making, TechCrunch reported on September 8 that Rario CEO Ankit Wadhwa and chief technical officer Sunny Bhanot are being fired.

Rario CEO Ankit Wadhwa (left) and CTO Sunny Bhanot (right). Source: TechCrunch

The main supporter of Rario and a well-known Indian fantasy sports website, Dream11, is reportedly also being kicked out. Other reorganization initiatives also involve the elimination of several posts.

In addition to Dream11, Rario has several notable investors, including cricket great Sachin Tendulkar and the international investment firm Alpha Wave Global.

The cricket NFT platform claimed to have the highest share of cricket NFT rights, with 900 cricketers at the time, and raised $120 million in a Series A fundraising round in April 2022.

This newest rumored reorganization occurs as Dream Sports, the parent company of Dream11, supposedly works to cut costs at the business.

Many of the licensing agreements that Rario had signed to reduce costs are currently being negotiated, according to TechCrunch. The alleged alterations are not now visible on the executives’ LinkedIn pages.

With the goal of fostering an online community among cricket enthusiasts and producing digital collectibles. Rario was established in 2021.

The company reported selling 50,000 NFTs to sports fans in 20 countries as of April 2021.

Rario has agreements with several cricket leagues, such as Cricket Australia, the Australian Cricketers’ Association, the Caribbean Premier League, the Lanka Premier League, and the Abu Dhabi T10 League Legends League Cricket.