Ubisoft, Sequoia China Help NFT Creator Hit $2 Billion Valuation

(Bloomberg) -- Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based crypto game maker, has received fresh capital from investors including Ubisoft Entertainment and Sequoia China, doubling its valuation to $2 billion in less than four months.

The non-fungible tokens (NFT) creator has completed a $65 million funding round at a pre-money valuation of $2.2 billion, the startup said in a statement. Investors in the round also included Dragonfly Capital, Tron founder Justin Sun, and existing backers like Liberty City Ventures, it said.

The fundraise comes as venture investors and tech giants such as Facebook Inc. jump on the metaverse rush, trying to grab a piece of a future where people play games and interact with one another in an ultra-realistic digital world. In July, Animoca Brands closed a previous funding round of $139 million, boosting itself to unicorn status. Earlier this month, venture firm Andreessen Horowitz led a $152 million round in the studio behind hit NFT game Axie Infinity, which Animoca Brands also has a stake in.

Animoca Brands will use the new capital to fund strategic investments and acquisitions, product development and licenses for popular intellectual property, according to the statement.

Founded in 2014, Animoca Brands develops games including The Sandbox and F1 Delta Time, where players collect and trade NFTs on a blockchain-based platform. It’s also an early investor in Dapper Labs, the maker of CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot. The firm delisted from Australia’s stock exchange in March 2020, after which it pivoted to private fundraising.

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