NFT-Focused Metaversal Raises $50M in Series A
- Founded in 2021, the company has already acquired over 750 NFTs and invested in startups that “are defining the future of the open metaverse”.
- The fresh funding will help Metaversal expand its NFT portfolio, and support businesses that “enable the open Metaverse to thrive”.
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Non-fungible token (NFT) venture studio Metaversal has completed a $50 million Series A funding round co-led by CoinFund and Foxhaven, the company said in a press release on 4 January.
According to the announcement, the funding round was also joined by Collab+Currency, Dapper Labs, Digital Currency Group, Franklin Templeton, Rarible, Theta Blockchain Ventures, Galaxy Vision Hill, and others. Following the Series A, Metaversal will partner with NFT platform Rarible and Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain, and “bring new projects to life” on them. The President and co-founder of Metaversal, Dan Schmerin, said in a statement.
“Our team remains laser-focused on execution, and this important financing milestone will meaningfully expand Metaversal’s curation and investment capabilities in 2022. We are incredibly excited by the array of investment opportunities in front of us, as well as the breadth of collaborations now underway with the world’s most recognizable brands and creators.”
The company also plans to use the newly acquired funds to expand its NFT-based business by acquiring high-profile NFT collectibles, supporting projects bootstrapped by its venture studio, and underwrite essential businesses that “enable the open Metaverse to thrive”. Founded in 2021, Metaversal has already acquired more than 750 NFTs and invested in technology startups that “are defining the future of the open metaverse”.
The digital art sector became mainstream in 2021, with NFT marketplaces generating an incredible amount of trading volumes in the last quarter of the year. OpenSea, one of the largest NFT marketplaces, was able to surpass $14 billion in trading volume in the last four months of 2021 alone, according to data from Dune analytics.
- Metaverse gaming platform The Sandbox has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Arabia Digital Government Authority.
- The partnership will see The Sandbox and DGA “exploring, advising and supporting” each other on future metaverse projects.
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- Blockchain developer Elrond is switching its focus to the metaverse, and in order to reflect that has now rebranded itself as MultiversX.
- The company has also introduced three new metaverse products, which include a metaverse portal, digital assets holder, and a deployable blockchain module.
- Interpol’s metaverse was designed to streamline communication between agencies around the world, and provide online education and training courses to new recruits.
- The move was made to prepare Interpol for the rising popularity of the technology, which will inevitably increase the number of crimes being committed on the metaverse.