Animoca Brands has been making rounds in the NFT world for quite a while. Now, the investor is planning to start a huge Metaverse fund.
Metaverse investments have been gaining immense popularity in the last two years, and Animoca Brands is looking to capitalize on this trend. The company aims to raise $2 billion from investors to fund projects related to blockchain, virtual reality, augmented reality, and other emerging technologies.
Animoca Brands’ Future Plans
Last Wednesday, the Animoca Brands co-founder, Yat Siu, told Nikkei Asia that the gaming investor is working on plans to set up a huge fund for Metaverse investments. The fund will be used to further develop and invest in promising Metaverse projects.
Animoca Capital, as the fund is known, will see its first investment in early 2023. The fund’s current target is set somewhere between $1 and $2 billion, although the money has not been raised yet. But since more and more businesses are entering the Metaverse space, the fund is likely to be filled with investors in no time.
What Will the Metaverse Fund Aim to Accomplish?
The Metaverse Fund will be a global venture capital fund focusing on investing in companies developing platforms for the Metaverse. The fund will provide capital for startups to build their products and services, among other benefits.
The main purpose of these investments will be to develop a Metaverse ecosystem and create an active market with multiple players instead of pursuing returns.
Siu and the rest of the Animoca Brands team feel that the Metaverse market is slowly starting to mature. That has created a need for a separate investment vehicle. The fund will focus on equity optimization and creating more opportunities for investors to access Web3 companies.
Any traditional investor looking to be a part of the Metaverse ecosystem can also invest in this fund.
Animoca Brands Background
Founded back in 2014, Animoca has been one of the biggest players in the Web3 space. Since its launch, the company has made over 380 investments in Web3-based businesses, including Dapper Labs and OpenSea.
The company was initially listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, however, two years ago it was delisted because it failed to comply with the rules. The founders have a stock exchange delisting plan, but they haven’t provided any details yet.
Some of Animoca’s biggest investors include GGV Capital, Mirae Asset Management, and Temasek. As you may have noticed, these investors are based in Singapore, the US, and South Korea. That’s because it’s always trying to maintain a global presence and invest in projects from all around the world, not just from its home base.
The Hong Kong-based Blockchain gaming group is known for The Sandbox, a Metaverse game that allows players to actually buy plots of digital land, decorate them using NFTs, and trade them.
Will the Fund Attract Major Investors?
Despite the current turmoil in the crypto market – the collapse of FTX has been of the biggest stories lately – Animoca Brands is confident that the fund will be successful. The company has managed to attract a lot of investors.
In January, Animoca is planning a $358 million fundraising as well as another $110 million one in September.
While the entire endeavor is more challenging, Animoca will continue to contribute to the Web3 market. As a matter of fact, the company is planning to pledge $10 million to Binance’s Web3 Industry Recovery Initiative to support the ecosystem.
