Sneaker app Aglet announces 4.5 million dollar seed round

US sneaker app Aglet has completed a seed financing of an additional 4.5 million dollars just months after closing its pre-seed extension.

The company has now raised 7 million dollars since it was founded in late 2019. This latest round was led by Sapphire Sport with participation from existing investors Lakestar Ventures and Forecast Ventures.

“Our main thesis is that gaming is eating the world,” Aglet co-founder and CEO Ryan Mullins said in a statement. “We seek to be the ‘metaverse for commerce’ where online and offline consumption experiences fuse together into something magical, fun and new. Aglet has built the platform for existing brands to plug into our experience, as well as for the next generation of creators to design virtual streetwear and brands.

“Our vision is to give them their own virtual retail shop in the gaming world and bring their designs into reality. ‘The street’ is now a virtual street.”

Aglet is a location-based game tapping into the hugely popular sneaker industry and Gen-Z’s hunger for snagging limited-edition product drops. Mixing the virtual and physical worlds, users can explore the real world to earn in-game currency, compete against other players around the world and collect virtual sneakers in a game environment.