How Collectors is Digitising the World of Collectibles

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Published Time: 2025-09-08T14:05:35Z

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September 08, 2025

How Collectors is Digitising the World of Collectibles

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By Maya Derrick

CTO Dan Van Tran brings a blend of collecting passion and technology experience to his role at Collectors

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Dan Van Tran

Chief Technology Officer

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Dan Van Tran, CTO, PSA, Collectors, collectibles

Dan Van Tran is a passionate and innovative technology leader, entrepreneur and CTO of Collectors, the parent company of Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), PCGS and other brands trusted globally for authenticating, grading and vaulting more than 100 million collectibles spanning the likes of sports cards, coins, comics and magazines.

Leveraging his deep expertise in scaling data-intensive platforms and harnessing AI, Dan spearheads a global engineering team of more than 200 professionals dedicated to modernising nearly four decades of hobby data to revolutionise both Collectors and the wider collectibles industry.

Dan’s journey into technology began early — and was sparked by his passion for gaming.

At the age of seven, he persuaded his grandmother to buy him a Nintendo instead of a bicycle, which kickstarted a lifelong passion for technology and creativity.

By 12, he was self-teaching coding on a TI 82 graphing calculator, developing games and nurturing a curiosity for turning abstract ideas into tangible, fun experiences.

“I’ve been chasing that same feeling, turning curiosity into something playable ever since,” he says.

This early passion laid the foundation for a career characterised by a deep commitment to solving complex, real-world problems across diverse sectors including fintech, health technology and, ultimately, collectibles.

Collectors Technology

Prior to joining Collectors, Dan worked at health tech startup Flatiron Health, co-founded by Nat Turner – who now serves as CEO of Collectors. Their shared passion for trading cards and innovation led to a strong connection and, when Collectors was acquired and taken from public to private status in 2019, Nat invited Dan to help transform the company’s technology infrastructure and operational capabilities.

“It was then that I realised I really wanted to get back into some of my older hobbies,” Dan shares.

Under Dan’s leadership, Collectors has expanded into new product categories and global markets, opening submission centres in London and Tokyo, and growing the business to support millions of monthly submissions. His team has developed innovative AI-powered tools such as the PSA mobile app’s AI scanner, which democratises the expertise of professional graders by instantly identifying and valuing trading cards with high levels of accuracy. This feature leverages deep learning and computer vision models trained on nearly 40 years of detailed card data — making collecting accessible and transparent to newcomers and veterans alike.

“I’ve always loved technology, taking broad ideas and turning them into reality,” he explains. “With technology, you can take anything and build nearly anything. At Collectors, we get to transform nostalgia into a trusted asset class.”

Beyond his role at Collectors, Dan is the founder of Myth MVPA, a boutique consultancy that helps startups transform their visions into investor-ready products at rapid pace – drawing on his extensive experience driving growth and scale in technology organisations.

To read the full story in the magazine, click HERE.

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