On Wednesday, Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming, A.I., metaverse, and non-fungible token (NFT) company, has announced a capital raise of US$65 million. The investment values the company at a pre-money valuation of US$2.2 billion, according to a company press release.
The gaming company has plans to deliver digital property rights via non-fungible tokens to gamers. Starting as a gaming company in 2014, the Company has recently shifted focus to blockchain and NFTs.
Investors Liberty City Ventures, Ubisoft Entertainment, Sequoia China, Dragonfly Capital, Com2uS, Kingsway Capital, 10T Holdings, Token Bay Capital, Smile Group, Tess Ventures, MSA Capital, Octava Fund, Adit Ventures, Summer Capital, Sigitech Holdings, Black Anthem Ltd, Mirana Corp, and Justin Sun participated in the round. South Korean technology giant Samsung is also a shareholder through its venture investment arm.
In July this year, the Company announced a US$ 138.88 million fundraise, at a pre-money valuation of US$1 billion. The valuation in the recent round is more than twice that in July.
The company’s blockchain game projects include REVV Racing, F1 Delta Time, MotoGP Ignition as well as The Sandbox. The Company has intellectual property rights for the gamification of WWE and the television superhero series Power Rangers.
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Animoca is also an investor in other popular blockchain games and NFT (non-fungible tokens)-related companies including the Dapper Labs, the creator of CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, and Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity). In July, Animoca Brands, in partnership with global venture accelerator Brinc, launched Launchpad Luna, an accelerator program to identify, mentor, and invest in promising blockchain and NFT startups.
Commenting on the investment, Tony Guoga Cypherpunk’s Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Cypherpunk is thrilled to have acquired shares of Animoca Brands to add to its investment portfolio. This transaction provides Cypherpunk exposure to the marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other digital assets via its investment in Animoca Brands. We are particularly interested in owning Animoca Brands given our confidence that Animoca Brands will continue to announce favourable news and developments, the possibility that it will list its shares on a public stock exchange, and due to investor sentiment and our belief in the NFT and digital entertainment sectors.”
On September 30, Cypherpunk Holdings Inc, a Canada-listed entity acquired 2 million ordinary shares of Animoca Brands, through secondary market trades at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.055 million Canadian dollars.