Animoca Brands now a double-unicorn after $65m investment from Ubisoft, others

Formerly ASX listed NFT gaming company Animoca Brands has more than doubled its valuation in just three months.

The Hong Kong-headquartered, Australia-incorporated metaverse company has raised US$65 million at a US$2.2 billion valuation, following a US$138 million capital raising completed in July that valued it at $1 billion.

Investors in the round included French gaming company Ubisoft Entertainment (publishers of Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry), mobile game developer Com2uS, Sequoia China, Dragonfly Capital and TRON founder Justin Sun.

“In this most recent round of fundraising we are especially honoured to see participation by some of the biggest names in the traditional gaming industry,” said Animoca executive chairman Yat Siu.

“In 2018 we laid out a strategy based on our assessment that in the future, digital property rights would revolutionize industries by expanding financial inclusion and that this significant change would start with NFT adoption in games,” he continued.

“That future is already here. With the backing of our new strategic investors, Animoca Brands will continue to advance blockchain in gaming – and beyond – to introduce billions of gamers and internet users to true digital ownership.”

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

Animoca already has investments in more than 100 NFT-related companies, including OpenSea, Dapper Labs, Bitski, Star Atlas and Axie Infinity. In July Animoca acquired Sydney-based indie game company Blowfish Studios for up to $US35 million, and in September it bought NFT launchpad Bondly Finance.

Dragonfly Capital partner Mia Deng said that Siu and his team had “demonstrated vision and foresight” and the crypto VC firm was excited to partner with them.

“I believe that the gaming, art, and music industries are entering a digital renaissance period uniquely enabled by blockchain,” Deng said.

Early-stage Australian investors into Animoca include Perennial, Ellerston, SG Hiscock, Regal, Koda Capital, 708 Capital, Taylor Collison and Collette Capital.