An NFT platform backed by big names including Mark Cuban and Marc Benioff just raised $13 million

• NFT platform Mintable raised $13 million in financing on Thursday, as the Singapore-based company backed by the likes of Mark Cuban and Marc Benioff looks to scale up.
• Mintable, founded in 2018, bills itself as a cheaper, simpler alternative to other NFT platforms.
• The company's bet is that gasless minting will empower creatives and stir some more mainstream attention.

Non-fungible token platform Mintable raised $13 million in series A financing on Thursday, as the Singapore-based company backed by the likes of Mark Cuban and Marc Benioff looks to scale up.

The funding round attracted attention from crypto heavyweights like Ripple, the company behind the $30 billion token XRP, as well as from more traditional investors, including the founder of Shutterstock. Cuban and Benioff both previously invested in the company, with Benioff doing so through a venture fund.

"Throughout 2021, NFTs have reached mass appeal, having touched almost every sector spanning entertainment, fine arts, sports, and many more," said Mintable CEO Zach Burks in a statement. "We are thankful for the support from our investors who hold the same shared belief of the many opportunities that NFTs can bring among mainstream users."

Mintable, founded in 2018, bills itself as a cheaper, simpler alternative to other NFT platforms, having been the first firm to push "gasless minting" - that is, letting users create NFTs without paying a fee, usually $100 or less, to the underlying ethereum network. Mintable charges its own 5% transaction fee for gasless-minted NFTs, versus 2.5% on traditional ones that incur the ethereum "gas" fee.

The company's bet is that gasless minting will empower creatives and stir some more mainstream attention.

"Our investment in Mintable is a testament to our commitment in furthering the mass adoption of NFTs and DeFi at scale," said Sandra Wu, Managing Director of SkyVision Capital, which participated in the funding round.

The $13 million in funding will go toward expanding Mintable's 14-strong staff and acquiring new users, Burks told The Block.