Exclusive: Forerunner leads $30 million round in collectibles marketplace Courtyard

And I’m not alone. Trading cards like Pokémon and sports cards have exploded in popularity in recent years, fueled in part by nostalgic yearning during the early days of the pandemic and new digital gamification elements of the hobby that have turned collecting for some into an FOMO-induced, impulse-buying sport. 

Now, one of the fastest-growing startups in the space—New York City-based Courtyard—has raised a $30 million Series A to double down on growth. Forerunner Ventures is leading the round, joined by the company’s existing investors NEA and Y Combinator. 

Founded in 2021 by Nicolas le Jeune, who previously worked at YouTube, and Paulin Andurand, a former Apple software engineer, Courtyard markets itself through its website as selling “mystery packs” of cards and comic books via a digital vending machine. What that means in practice is that customers agree to pay either $25, $50, or even $100 for an unknown Pokemon or sports card—or $200 in the case of a comic book—and then an algorithm randomly assigns them a card or comic from the startup’s massive inventory of collectibles stored in the company’s secure vault. Before purchasing, customers can view the probability that they will “pull,” in industry speak, a card of certain value.

If you’re disappointed by the card you receive, you have a few options. Courtyard will immediately purchase the card back for 90% of its fair market value. Customers can also choose to list the item for sale on Courtyard’s marketplace, which doesn’t charge any fees to sellers. That ability to quickly sell out of a purchase you aren’t interested in, or disappointed by, is at the heart of Forerunner’s attraction to the startup.

“Courtyard stands out as the first collectibles marketplace that’s actually designed to be liquid,” Forerunner partner Nicole Johnson wrote in an email to Fortune. “That might sound like a small thing, but it’s a big unlock: it lowers the barrier to entry [for consumers] in a category that’s historically been tough to navigate.”

If the card’s a keeper, customers can keep it secured for free in Courtyard’s storage facility, and have it shipped to them. (Many customers don’t realize, and don’t really need to, that they are in reality purchasing an NFT, or digital token, that represents a specific physical card—or piece of merchandise.) 

The mystery packs have been a hit. In January of 2024, Courtyard was selling about $50,000 of merchandise a month. Today—just a year and a half later—le Jeune says the company is selling $50 million a month. And that’s with the comic book category just recently launching and with all sales happening via a website; the startup is expected to release its first mobile app in the coming days. The startup makes money when it buys cards back from customers for 90% of its value and resells it to customers in a new mystery pack. The same card is sold an average of eight times a month on the platform, the company said. Courtyard also relies on a large network of collectibles dealers who source merchandise for the startup, helping make the startup the largest buyer of trading cards in the world right now, according to le Jeune.

But clones are popping up and the CEO said he is willing to go into the red to step on the gas and expand the startup’s lead, through a mix of hiring, paid marketing, and product category expansion.

“We want to make sure we double down on the growth and capture the market as fast as possible,” the CEO said.

When I tried out the service recently, I purchased a $25 mystery basketball card. It turned out to be a rookie card for Jalen Green, a young NBA player drafted as the 2nd pick in the 2021 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. Green was recently traded by the Houston Rockets to the Phoenix Suns and has not lived up to his initial promise. Courtyard offered me $9 for a card valued in the broader basketball card market at $10. I didn’t accept, and have chosen to store the card with Courtyard for now, hoping that Green might play better this year and the value of the card might increase, making it worth it to keep or to add to my son’s collection. For a first experience, though, it was a bit disappointing even if I knew logically that pulling a card of greater value was not at all guaranteed.

I asked le Jeune about the risk that a first-time buyer experience like mine might dissuade a customer from sticking around and making another purchase.

“We could fake it and make you feel at the beginning like you get a good card every single time,” he said, “but we would not be okay with that.”

As the company gets bigger, he added, Courtyard will be able to offer more value to its customers for each transaction.

“We grew so fast but it’s still the early days,” le Jeune said, “and there’s so much room to make it a much better experience.”

See you tomorrow,

Jason Del Rey
X: @delrey
Email: jason.delrey@fortune.com
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Fortune AIQ

Fortune recently unveiled a new ongoing series, Fortune AIQ, dedicated to navigating AI’s real-world impact. Our latest collection of stories explores how businesses across virtually every industry are putting AI to work—and how their particular field is changing as a result.

• How Walmart, Amazon, and other retail giants are using AI to reinvent the supply chain—from warehouse to checkout. Read more
• Meet the legacy players and upstarts using AI to reinvent the energy business. Read more
• AI isn’t just entering law offices—it’s challenging the entire legal playbook. Read more
• How a bulldozer, crane, and excavator rental company is using AI to save 3,000 hours per week. Read more
• AI is already touching nearly every corner of the medical field. Read more

VENTURE DEALS

- Vanta, a San Francisco-based AI-powered trust management platform, raised $150 million in Series D funding. Wellington Management led the round and was joined by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Sequoia, J.P. Morgan, Craft Ventures, Y Combinator, Atlassian Ventures, and CrowdStrike Ventures.

- Buena, a Berlin, Germany-based developer of AI property management software, raised $58 million in Series A funding. Google Ventures led the round and was joined by 20VC, Stride, and Capnamic.

- LegalOn Technologies, a San Francisco-based developer of a legal AI for contracting, raised $50 million in Series E funding. Goldman Sachs led the round and was joined by existing investor World Innovation Lab and others. 

- Swift Navigation, a San Francisco-based developer of satellite positioning technology designed for autonomous vehicles and devices, raised $50 million in Series E funding. Crosslink Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors NEA, Eclipse Ventures, EPIQ Capital Group, First Round Capital, TELUS Global Ventures, Potentum Partners, and others. 

- Hypernatural, a New York City-based AI video making platform, raised $9.2 million across two rounds. AIX Ventures and Underscore VC, respectively, led the rounds and were joined by Adverb, Character.vc, and 43 VC.

- Mara Renewables, a Halifax, Canada-based company developing omega-3s from algae, raised $9.1 million in funding from S2G Investments. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Journey, a New York City-based enterprise mental health platform, raised $8 million in Series A funding. Cambrian Growth Partners led the round and was joined by Manchester Story, Canaan Partners, J-Ventures, J-Impact, Life Science Angels, HealthTech Capital, and others.

- Daylight Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based developer of agentic AI technology designed to detect and respond to cyber threats, raised $7 million in seed funding. Bain Capital Ventures led the round and was joined by Maple VC and angel investors. 

- Relativity Networks, an Orlando, Fla.-based fiber-optic technology provider, raised $6.1 million in seed funding from Prysmian, GOVO Venture Partners, and others.

- Volca, a New York City-based AI-powered marketing platform designed for home service businesses, raised $5.5 million in seed funding. Pathlight Ventures led the round and was joined by MetaProp, GTMFund, Recall Capital, and others.

- Olto, a San Francisco-based developer of an AI demo engineer, raised $5.1 million in pre-seed funding. Nexus Venture Partners and The General Partnership led the round and were joined by Afore Capital, Recall Capital, Ligature, FirstHand, and others.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Spectrum Equity invested $300 million in Quavo Fraud & Disputes, a Wilmington, Del.-based developer of dispute management software for financial institutions.

- Blackstone agreed to acquire a majority stake in NetBrain Technologies, a Burlington, Mass.-based network automation and AI platform. The investment values NetBrain Technologies at $750 million.

- Knowtion Health, a portfolio company of Arsenal Capital Partners, acquired Switch RCM, a Madison, Wis.-based company that aggregates health care data. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- National Safety Apparel, a portfolio company of Blue Point Capital Partners, acquired Bashlin Industries, a Grove City, Penn.-based manufacturer of gear and equipment designed for power utility and telecommunication linemen and industrial professionals. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- TA Associates acquired KX, a New York City-based analytics database. Financial terms were not disclosed.

EXITS

- Roper Technologies agreed to acquire Subsplash, a Dallas, Texas-based developer of AI tools for ministries, from K1 Investment Management. Financial terms were not disclosed.