(Kitco News) - Animoca Brands, one of the largest firms in the realm of Web3 gaming, is preparing to launch a $2 billion fund dedicated to investing in metaverse companies.
The new Animoca Capital fund was revealed by the company’s CEO Yat Siu during an interview with NikkeiAsia. The fund is expected to make its first investment in 2023.
Animoca Brands is no stranger to investing in the nonfungible token (NFT) and Web3 gaming space, as the firm made over 60 investments in the first half of 2022 and has invested in a total of 340 projects since its inception.
The firm is also behind some of the most popular projects in the space, including its metaverse gaming platforms The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Grease Monkey Games and Eden Games.
Animoca Capital fund is being launched to help develop the metaverse ecosystem and increase the available opportunities for investors to access Web3 companies, according to Siu. “They want more direct exposure to mid- to late-stage companies, and this is the role of a fund,” he said.
The CEO went on to describe how the volatility of the crypto and NFT markets prevents many larger investors from investing in the space, and Animoca Capital is looking to invest strategically to help create an active market where these investors can get exposure to the asset class.
“For a lot of traditional investors, investing in growth [stage] to a late stage is safer. It’s very different from investing in a seed startup, which has much higher risk,” Siu said.
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The fund is also likely to focus on digital property rights, which is an issue that is important to Siu. He has previously discussed his belief that Web3 features like NFTs have the power to “free” content creators from the grip of Web2 giants and give them more control over their creations.
The Animoca Brands chief also suggested that an additional fund was needed that could be used as an investment vehicle and pursue financial returns since that is not a focus of Animoca Capital. Such a fund would prioritize “everything on digital property rights” and won’t seek geographical restrictions for investment decisions, according to Siu.
The fundraising campaign for Animoca Capital has not yet been conducted, but it is aiming to raise somewhere between $1 billion and $2 billion. Earlier in 2022, Animoca Brands raised $358 million to help grow the open metaverse and support product development and licensure.
