Metaverse developer Animoca Brands raises $110 million

The Hong Kong-based gaming developer Animoca Brands raised $110 million from investors in a statement on Thursday.

The company issued convertible notes in a funding round that values it at around $5.6 billion.

The statement said that existing investors are contributing to the statement, including Singapore-based Temasek, global venture capital firm GGV Capital and China-focused asset manager Boyu Capital.

The co-founder of Animoca Brands, Yat Siu, said in a statement that they will help with strategic advice and perspective. Animoca Brands invested in more than 340 companies to build its vision of a metaverse based on blockchain technology, in which users can buy and trade digital assets in the form of non-fungible token NFTs NFTs surged last year as speculators started to invest in digital assets and the metaverse became a tech buzzword. Sales volumes have dropped sharply in recent months due to investors turning more risk-averse, coin prices have fallen and the much-hyped metaverse has shown few signs of materialising.

A spokesman for Animoca Brands played down the impact of the crypto winter industry lingo for a spell of depressed prices, which has wiped out around $1 trillion off the criptocurrency market this year, according to CoinGecko data.

The statement said that the funds raised will be used to make more acquisitions and investments, as well as product development and securing intellectual property licenses.

We take a long-term view, and note that the gaming industry has been relatively less affected by the chill than some other sectors, the spokesperson said.

Axie Infinity, which is backed by Animoca Brands, has seen a decline in monthly sales volume, buyer numbers and average sale prices since January, according to market tracker CryptoSlam.

Animoca Brands raised $75 million in July and $360 million in January.