Sorare's rise, crisis and comeback: Nicolas Julia retells the full story
Key points
Key takeaways from the tech 45' interview with Nicolas Julia, co-founder and chief executive of Sorare, recounting the fantasy-sports platform's ascent, crisis and comeback:
Transcript unavailable — summary based on title and description
The arc: In a roughly 45-minute episode Julia tells Sorare's story in three acts — the ascent, the crisis and the remontada — through the lens of the past few months.
The origin: Julia came from consulting and later AI and blockchain work at Stratumn, where he met Adrien Montfort, his future co-founder. Together they launched Sorare in Paris in 2018, driven by a genuine passion for sport, for players and for fans.
The vision: The idea fused that sports passion with the new blockchain technology then emerging around collectibles: give every sports player a card to play, building a game inspired by card collecting and fantasy sport.
The ascent: The concept rode the NFT wave of 2021, with a $680M Series B at a $4.3B valuation and licensing deals with major football leagues and clubs.
The crisis: As NFT markets cooled, revenue declined from its 2022 peak and the company restructured, cutting staff by around a third and closing its New York office, while facing regulatory scrutiny including a UK Gambling Commission case over its licensing.
The comeback: In 2026 Sorare secured renewed backing from historical investors including Accel, Benchmark, Partech and Kibo Ventures, launched the free-to-play Arcade mode, and Julia said net revenue grew 85% year on year in the first half of 2026, with profitability targeted for the end of 2027.
Read more: Watch on YouTube
