Rario, a platform built on Polygon known for issuing cricket-related nonfungible tokens (NFTs), is undergoing significant changes as its founders, CEO Ankit Wadhwa and Chief Technology Officer Sunny Bhanot, depart from their roles. Investors at the startup are reportedly taking on a more active role in the company, leading to the departure of key executives.
Dream11, a prominent Indian fantasy sports platform and a major backer of Rario, is also facing removal from the project. The restructuring efforts are not limited to leadership changes, as various roles within the company are being eliminated.
Rario counts several prominent investors among its backers, including global investment firm Alpha Wave Global and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. In April 2022, the cricket NFT platform successfully raised $120 million in a Series A funding round, asserting its dominance in the cricket NFT rights space, with 900 cricketers under its banner at the time.
This reported shakeup occurs as Dream11’s parent company, Dream Sports, is reportedly working to reduce costs at the firm. As part of this effort, Dream Sports is said to be renegotiating many of the licensing agreements that Rario had previously signed, aiming to curtail expenses.
At present, these changes have not been reflected on the LinkedIn profiles of the executives involved. Rario and Dream11 have not provided immediate comments on the reported developments.
Founded in 2021, Rario’s mission was to create digital cricket collectibles and foster online community engagement among fans. By April 2021, the company claimed to have sold 50,000 NFTs to sports enthusiasts across 20 countries. Rario had secured partnerships with prominent cricket leagues, including Cricket Australia, the Australian Cricketers’ Association, the Caribbean Premier League, the Lanka Premier League, and the Abu Dhabi T10 League Legends League Cricket.
