Dapper Labs is a blockchain company best known for creating CryptoKitties, one of the first viral NFT applications, and for building the Flow blockchain. Founded in 2018 by Roham Gharegozlou, Dieter Shirley, and Mikhael Naayem in Vancouver, Canada, Dapper Labs spun out of Axiom Zen after CryptoKitties famously congested the Ethereum network in late 2017.

Dapper Labs developed the Flow blockchain specifically to address the scalability limitations that CryptoKitties exposed on Ethereum. Flow uses a multi-role node architecture that separates consensus, verification, execution, and collection into specialized node types, enabling higher throughput without sharding. The blockchain was designed from the ground up for consumer-facing applications, NFTs, and gaming.

The company's biggest commercial success was NBA Top Shot, launched in 2020 in partnership with the National Basketball Association and the NBA Players Association. NBA Top Shot allows users to buy, sell, and collect officially licensed video highlight NFTs called "Moments." The platform generated over $1 billion in sales and brought mainstream attention to NFTs, attracting users who had no prior crypto experience.

Dapper Labs expanded its licensed sports NFT model with NFL All Day (American football) and UFC Strike (mixed martial arts). However, the broader NFT market downturn significantly impacted trading volumes and the company's revenue. Dapper Labs underwent multiple rounds of layoffs and has shifted focus toward supporting the broader Flow ecosystem and enabling third-party developers. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Key Products

• Flow Blockchain — Purpose-built blockchain for consumer applications, NFTs, and gaming
• NBA Top Shot — Licensed NBA highlight NFT collectibles platform
• NFL All Day — Licensed NFL highlight NFT collectibles
• Cadence — Resource-oriented smart contract programming language for Flow

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