The legendary former professional basketball player Michael Jordan and his son Jeffrey Jordan have revealed they are getting into blockchain and Web 3.0 technology, according to an announcement published on December 15. The father and son duo’s first tech venture is called Heir Inc., a platform that aims to connect loyal fans with popular athletes. Furthermore, Jordan’s tech platform aims to launch a token called “heir” built on the Solana blockchain.
Jordan Duo will launch Heir Platform in 2022, Heir Token will be built on Solana
Michael Jordan and his son Jeffrey Jordan have announced their first tech product called Heir, and the startup recently closed the Thrive Capital-led company-led $ 10 million first round. In addition, the seed funding investments for Heir Inc. came from Solana Ventures, Chicago Bulls goaltender Lonzo Ball, William Wesley, executive vice president and senior basketball advisor for the New York Knicks, and the New York Knicks. tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian.
The press announcement sent to Bitcoin.com News says Heir is a “next-generation holding company that will build culturally-inspired consumer brands rooted in tech and entertainment.” While Solana Ventures invested in Heir, the new tech platform crafted by the Jordans will also leverage the Solana blockchain network to issue an “heir” token.
The ad notes that “[Heir] supporters will have the option to purchase one-time digital assets or join their blockchain-powered “huddle” for exclusive drops, digital products, immersive experiences, and more. Basically, popular athletes will have VIP “seats” reserved exclusively for avid fans who can take advantage of Heir tokens and access “intimate first person” non-fungible (NFT) tokens.
“What Heir Inc. is developing is purpose-built for a new era of athlete enterprise, opening the door for richer storytelling and deeper consumer engagement,” Jeffrey Jordan explained in a statement. “The Jordan name has cultivated a loyal community for more than 35 years; the focus now is passing that legacy on to the next generation. We hope to continue to build and invest in businesses that bring that same reverence to the media and tech space.”
Heir aims to target Gen Z and Millennial fans
The announcement states that the Heir platform will launch in 2022 and that the project is designed for Gen Z and Millennial fans. Heir’s next-generation holding company will be headed by Jeffrey Jordan, Jeron Smith and Daniel George.
“We envision Heir becoming the platform that will help cultivate the future of athlete meta-brands,” Heir Inc. co-founders George and Smith explained. “Dedicated supporters are at the heart of the platform, and they’ll benefit from early adoption ownership and unmatched access to their favorite athletes.”
The co-founders added:
Through market engagement and technology activations, our platform unlocks the underserved monetization of fandom. We’re excited to offer creators a wider range of engagement tools to reach passionate supporters, especially Gen Z and Millennials, in new ways.
Concepts like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain technology have been very attractive to sports-related firms in 2021 and during the last two weeks, Nike and Adidas have entered the NFT and metaverse space. The Flow blockchain-based NFT collectibles NBA Top Shot have seen $750.4 million in all-time sales and is the fourth largest NFT marketplace in terms of all-time sales, according to dappradar.com stats.
