New York-based tech startup Rally raises $30M in funding to enable retail investors to invest in one-of-a-kind collectible assets
Investing in classic cars and collectibles can be a very lucrative investment. Early this year, a signed 1933 card smashed auction record selling at $761,100 and more than double the highest price ever fetched for the same card a few years before. That’s not all. A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO was also auctioned off for $48.4 million at Sotheby’s in February this year.
Today, the global collectible market is estimated to be more than $370 billion. With surging inflation and trillions of dollars in circulation, investors are investing in assets that hold their values over time. However, the current market is dominated by the rich, the affluent, and the top income earners. Not anymore.
Enter Rally, a New York-based tech startup that enables anyone to invest in one-of-a-kind collectibles. Rally provides a platform for buying and selling equity shares in collectible assets. Rally is an app that allows members of all income levels to buy and sell equity shares in collectible assets including sports cards & memorabilia, classic cars, graded comic books, vintage watches, wine, first edition literature, and one-of-a-kind investment-grade items from the past and present.
Yesterday, Rally announced it raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Accel with participation from existing investors Upfront Ventures, Social Leverage, and others. In addition, Rally also received another $50 million debt facility from Upper90 Capital to rapidly offer one-of-a-kind assets across all categories.
The new funding will allow for expanding into new categories, adding to its team, and folding intangible and nontangible assets “that are most relevant,” Rally co-founder Rob Petrozzo said. Citing the changing landscape as indicated by the keen interest in NFTs and the creator economy, Petrozzo said the company “will be able to prioritize access to those firms.”
Founded in 2016 by Rob Petrozzo, Christopher Bruno, and Maximilian Niederste-Ostholt, Rally aims to democratize alternative investments like these, providing access, liquidity, and transparency to markets that have traditionally only been available to a select few.
“We’ve always had a focus on the assets that matter most to our investors and the assets that have the most cultural significance, too. Our goal has always been to find the assets with the most interesting stories and particularly those that will continue to write new stories and remain relevant in the future,” Petrozzo added.
In addition to rare collectibles, Rally said it plans to 5 to 10 new asset classes will be added over the coming months.
“Looking ahead to intangible assets, the founder said users have been very vocal about what they want to see on the platform — music rights and domain names being among their requests. Five to 10 new asset classes will be added over the coming months.”