SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 has recently led the investment round for gaming platform Sandbox, where a total of $93 million was raised.
A Successful Series B Fundraise
The Hong Kong-based gaming platform, majority-owned by blockchain gaming developer Animoca Brands, allows users to create an NFT-based virtual world, where they can build, own, and monetize their virtual gaming experience on the Ethereum blockchain. With over 500,000 users, Sandbox has reportedly generated over $144 million in gross merchandise. Its latest Series B funding round raised a total of $93 million, led by SoftBank.
Expanding The Metaverse
Sandbox is planning to use the capital to fund its creators’ economy and expand from gaming to other fields like fashion, architecture, and even virtual concerts. According to Co-founder and COO Sebastien Borget,
“We are creating this open metaverse. We are positioning the Sandbox against those giant tech companies who are claiming the metaverse to be theirs, offering an alternative where users are first.”
With Facebook announcing its name change into Meta Platforms last week, investors are interested more than ever in companies that can create a metaverse experience in gaming and other activities. The value of the Sandbox token has also increased over 200% since then, indicating that the company’s decision to expand their metaverse experience is appropriate now more than ever. With a market cap of nearly $2 billion, the Sandbox token is ripe for investment.
SoftBank’s First Crypto Asset Investment
SoftBank has previously led a series of fundings in NFT-related companies this year, including startup Candy Digital and NFT fantasy soccer game Sorare. However, this is the first investment made by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 in a company that issues its own cryptocurrency. So far, the investment company has funded blockchain projects only, choosing to stay away from coins. According to the CEO of SoftBank, Rajeev Misra, the company has chosen not to buy cryptocurrency since it cannot apply a mathematical model to such investments. They had focused their attention primarily on blockchain architecture and its applications in education and life sciences in developing nations.
Misra had commented,
“A kid in a small town in India or Africa can get education from MIT or Stanford and that’s happening and that’s accelerating. The fact that we are using genetic engineering and AI to come up with a vaccine within six to seven months … shows you how the investment in life sciences is going to accelerate to find cure for a lot of lifestyle diseases and vaccines.”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
