Animoca Completes Funding Round, Gets an Extra $50M From Coinbase, Samsung

Games maker Animoca Brands has finalized its $138.8 million capital raise through a second tranche of $50 million, according to a press release on Thursday.

Notable investors included Blue Pool Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Gobi Partners, Korea Investment Partners, Liberty City Ventures and Samsung Venture Investment Corporation.

Token Bay Capital, zVentures – Razer Inc.'s corporate venture arm – and other prominent investors also participated. To commemorate its "unicorn valuation," the company will issue non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to its investors and partners, according to the release.

The new capital will be used to fund strategic investments and acquisitions, product development and licenses for popular intellectual properties, the company said.

Animoca's second and final round of the raise comes on the heels of its first tranche in May, having raised some $88.8 million based on a valuation of $1 billion. The latest $50 million came at a subscription price of A$1.10 per share, for a total of 164.8 million new shares.

Being no stranger to the blockchain and crypto arenas, Animoca inked a deal in 2019 with MotoGP rights holder Dorna Sports to develop and publish a race management game leveraging blockchain tech and custom smart contracts.

The company said its focus is to bring about digital property rights to video gamers and the metaverse through the use of blockchain and NFTs in order to establish play-to-earn models and digital asset interoperability.

"We are about to experience fundamental change in multiple aspects of our digital lives including the ways in which we enjoy games and purchase and utilize virtual goods," a spokesperson for Samsung Venture Investment Corporation said in the release.

*CORRECTION (JULY 1 13:39 UTC): Removes reference to ASX listing from first sentence.