China-headquartered gaming and blockchain technology group Animoca Brands launched a Japan-based subsidiary yesterday with ¥1.1bn ($10m) in seed funding having also formed the $30m Guild Accelerator Program in Hong Kong.
Animoca Brands provided the initial seed funding for Animoca Brands Japan in January 2022, investing alongside asset manager MCP’s IPX One Fund.
MCP IPX One Fund was officially launched yesterday having accumulated limited partners including publisher Kodansha, rail operator Nishi-Nippon Railroad, financial services group Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and unnamed local and international institutional investors.
Founded in 2014, Animoca Brands provides blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT) technology applied in a range of in-house metaverse video games which enable players to trade crypto assets.
Animoca Brands Japan will help local content producers promote their intellectual properties (IP) globally across areas such as anime, games, art and sports. Similar to its parent company, it will enable creators to distribute their works in tokenised networks with NFTs.
The funding will allow Animoca Brands Japan to expand its presence in the country in a bid to make Japanese IP more widely available globally through blockchain technology. Seasoned investor Motoki Tani is serving as a representative director.
Tani was formerly a Hong Kong-based managing director and senior portfolio manager at investment manager Millennium Management focusing on Japanese macro strategy investment, having previously headed investment bank JP Morgan’s yen bond trading division in the United States.
Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, said: “Japanese IP includes a wealth of high-quality and appealing content. We are excited to establish Animoca Brands Japan and deeply honoured to bring on institutional capital from the world’s most influential names in global Japanese culture, such as Kodansha and others.
“Our Japanese division will focus on partnering with IP owners in Japan to enable them to offer new Web3 products and services in the open metaverse.”
Animoca Brands’ Guild Accelerator Program was formed in partnership with Hong Kong-based accelerator operator Brinc. It will seek out, mentor and invest in early-stage developers of technologies designed to enhance crypto-equipped play-to-earn games.
The initiative is set to operate for the next two years and will provide up to $500,000 for each eligible startup. Selected participants will also have access to industry specialists and investors through Animoca Brands and Brinc’s networks.
Richard Robinson, an entrepreneur-in-residence at Animoca Brands, is overseeing Guild Accelerator Program, which will be part of Launchpad Luna, the joint blockchain and NFT startup accelerator set up in mid-2021 by Brinc and Animoca Brands. The application window is open until February 27 for the first cohort due to begin in May.
Regarding the scheme, Yat Siu explained: “As the world enters a new era of work and play, the play-to-earn guilds space has enormous potential for growth.
“The management of digital assets in games and in the open metaverse represents a significant source of income for hundreds of millions of people. The future of work in the metaverse is being written today, and we are proud to foster the guilds that are driving the evolution of these new opportunities.”
Image courtesy of Animoca Brands Co, Ltd.
