Animoca Brands, a venture capital firm specialising in the metaverse and gaming, intends to collaborate with Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Investment Fund on Web3 initiatives.
According to a Monday announcement, the investment fund of NEOM, a planned new urban area in northwest Saudi Arabia that is intended to serve as a centre for trade, technology, entertainment, and tourism, is planning to invest $50 million in Animoca.
In order to support NEOM’s ambitions to become a cutting-edge tech hub, Animoca will develop Web3 service capabilities with international commercial applications in tandem with NEOM.
In order to support NEOM’s ambitions to become a cutting-edge tech hub, Animoca will develop Web3 service capabilities with international commercial applications in tandem with NEOM.
Animoca, a well-known brand in the Web3 investment space for many years, was valued at $6 billion in July 2022 and counted Temasek, the state investment fund of Singapore, among its investors. The company had planned to raise $2 billion for its metaverse fund in November of the following year, but after FTX collapsed, expectations were severely dampened. As a result, Animoca lowered the goal to $800 million in March 2023.
Amidst broader signs of the crypto winter, Animoca is now drawing investment from state-backed funds once again, which could be a sign of a turning tide in the Web3 venture capital sector.