Animoca Brands raises $75M to advance ‘open metaverse’ concept

Blockchain gaming and venture studio Animoca Brands has closed another strategic funding round, giving the company additional resources to expand its acquisition targets in the metaverse sector. 

The company announced Tuesday that it has closed a $75.32 million funding round at a pre-money valuation of $5.9 billion backed by Liberty City Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Alpha Wave Ventures, 19T, SG Spring Limited Partnership Fund and others. The raise represents the “second tranche” of funding following a $358.8 million raise in January that was supported by venture giants Sequoia China, Winklevoss Capital, ParaFi Capital and 10T Holdings.

Animoca said the new capital will fund strategic acquisitions, product development and intellectual property licenses as it looks to advance the so-called “open metaverse” concept. The company said it plans to continue using blockchain technology, including nonfungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance and GameFi, to promote digital property rights.

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Despite the presence of a bear market in digital assets, Animoca has been actively expanding its portfolio in 2022. In April, the venture studio acquired a large stake in Australian digital marketing firm Be Media — a move designed to expand partnerships with the local blockchain industry. The same month, Animoca purchased video game publishers Eden Games and Darewise Entertainment.

Related: VC Roundup: ‘Web5,’ Metaverse sports and Bitcoin monetization startups generate buzz

Animoca subsidiary The Sandbox (SAND) has played a leading role in advancing the still-nascent metaverse industry. As Cointelegraph reported, American lifestyle and entertainment brand Playboy recently announced the launch of a “MetaMansion” in The Sandbox — a virtual mansion that will give users the ability to participate in a host of gaming and social events.

The Sandbox currently has a total market capitalization of $1.4 billion, making it the second-largest metaverse project behind Decentraland, according to CoinMarketCap.