Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming firm Animoca Brands announced today that it had raised $75-million at a $5.5-billion valuation even as the markets suffer from the collapse in cryptocurrency prices.
The latest funding round is Animoca’s fifth since the beginning of last year. The latest raise is supported by investors like Liberty City Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Alpha Waves Ventures, 10T, SG Spring Limited Partnership Fund, Generation Highway Ltd, and Cosmic Summit Investments Limited.
Animoca’s co-founder Yat Siu said in a statement that the funding round was delayed because some investors were worried about the collapse of TerraUSD and its impact on the cryptocurrency markets.
The company has invested in more than 340 companies to build its vision of a “metaverse” based on blockchain technology. Using cryptocurrencies, virtual assets can be bought and sold as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The company has invested in numerous leading Web3 companies, including Dapper Labs, NBA Top Shots, OpenSea, and Axie Infinity. The firm also has a majority stake in the metaverse game The Sandbox.
Animoca Brands uses technologies including blockchain and NFTs to deliver true digital ownership of users’ virtual assets and data. This enables various Defi and GameFi opportunities (including play-and-earn), asset interoperability, and an open framework. These opportunities can lead to greater equitability for all participants in the open metaverse.
The firm said it would use the capital to fund acquisitions, investments, and product development, secure licenses for popular intellectual properties, and advance the open metaverse.
In a statement by the firm’s executive chairman and co-founder, Yat Siu, “ Digital property rights represent a society-defining generational shift that impacts everyone online and will set the stage for the emergence of the open metaverse.” He said, “We are deeply honored to continue to enjoy strong support from investors as we work to solidify the leadership position of Anomica Brands in the Web3 industry and the field of true digital ownership.”
The latest funding rounds are a testament that capital is still finding its way to well-established firms in the industry, despite the bearishness of the digital asset market.
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