Google and Samsung: Cute Cats Power Serious $15 Million CryptoKitties Round

The company behind the viral blockchain phenomenon CryptoKitties is planning to enhance its platform - and it's received backing from some major tech firms to do it.

Announced Wednesday, Dapper Labs, the startup that spun out of parent firm Axiom Zen to continue working on CryptoKitties, has secured $15 million in funding.

The new funding comes months after Dapper Labs secured $12 million in a round led by a16z and Union Square Ventures.

While Venrock is not known as a blockchain or crypto-focused investment company, Pakman sees CryptoKitties as a specific case wherein blockchain can allow people to do something online that so far they have only done offline: collect rare things.

With $27 million in new funding so far this year, all signs point to Dapper Labs being on the cusp of a new release.

With a possible eye to the future, Shirley said that originally run CryptoKitties would no longer be regularly released at the end of November.

CryptoKitties is itself a game, but it's a low-intensity one wherein collectors can create new characters from the CryptoKitties they already possess.

"We have a lot more experiences and plans for CryptoKitties and their users," Shirley said.

This past summer, the CryptoKitties team updated its licenses to clarify the rights held by owners of particular cats.

"The sky's the limit. CryptoKitties are characters," Shirley said.