Animoca’s New $2B Investment Fund Focuses on the Metaverse

The separate investment vehicle will target mid- to late-stage metaverse startups

article-image

thinkhubstudio/Shutterstock.com

share

Animoca Brands, blockchain gaming giant and venture capital company, plans to raise between $1 billion and $2 billion as part of a new metaverse-focused fund called Animoca Capital, Nikkei Asia reported.

The fund is looking to invest in mid- to late-stage metaverse businesses, according to Yat Sui, Animoca’s co-founder and executive chairman. It will focus on digital property rights for NFTs and land in the metaverse, and function as a “good entry point” for investors to access Web3 companies. 

Loading Tweet..

Animoca Brands has grown to become the largest blockchain investment unit in Asia by being an early investor in projects such as OpenSea, Dapper Labs, Yield Guild Games, Star Atlas and Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis.

However, Animoca itself has various backers, such as Temasek and True Global Ventures, who now want to directly invest in later stage companies with less risk and not just be exposed to Animoca’s portfolio companies — hence the new Animoca Capital structure.

“The fund will be focused on equity optimization,” Sui told Nikkei Asia when describing the need for a separate investment vehicle. “As a fund, you optimize for return. So it’s different.” 

Its first investment in a startup is expected to happen next year, and there will be no geographical restrictions when assessing startups, he added.

Animoca did not immediately respond to Blockworks’ request for a comment.

Animoca Brands has over 340 investments and dozens of subsidiaries in the Web3 space, including The Sandbox. Its portfolio investment and digital asset reserves combined were valued at approximately $5.7 billion as of June 2022, according to a letter from the chair.  

Animoca has been “building an open Web3 and facilitating an open metaverse” and raised $358 million fundraising in January and completed another $110 million raise in September to do so.

It has also partnered with Yuga Labs on the Otherside project, the metaverse game of Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club. And most recently has announced a partnership with esports company FaZe Clan to co-produce events and games in The Sandbox.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

The network is at a “pivotal juncture,” Blockworks Research’s Marc-Thomas Arjoon said

article-image

Altcoin trade volume has returned to pre-FTX levels, but with a shrinking pool of market leaders

article-image

Solana Foundation’s former head of strategy proposes increasing the disinflation rate

article-image

With much of the bitcoin mining supply chain based in Asia, US-based operations now face higher equipment prices

article-image

Anticipating an economic downturn, venture firms may be less likely to invest

article-image

Trump’s tariffs may have potentially significant impacts on GDP, household spending and food prices — if they hold