Temasek to spearhead $100 Million Funding for Crypto Landlord Animoca

By: Michael Wilson

Temasek to spearhead $100 Million Funding for Crypto Landlord Animoca

September 2, 2022 6:55 AM

The CEO of Animoca, who created the metaverse, stated the company will maintain spending even if the economy weakened, which is an additional boost to the company's fundraising efforts for the year 2022.

 

Animoca's portfolio includes over 340 businesses throughout the industries of finance, gaming, and social media.

 

State investor Temasek Holdings Pte. of Singapore is contributing to a $100 million funding round for Animoca Brands Corp., placing a gamble on one of crypto's most prolific investing houses despite a $2 trillion market catastrophe.

 

People familiar with the matter indicated Temasek will spearhead financing using convertible bonds. According to the source, this is in addition to the $359 million in fundraising that the Hong Kong startup Animoca announced in January. Earlier this summer, Animoca received $75 million at a $6 billion valuation.

 

Temasek has stated that it does not invest directly in cryptocurrencies but rather seeks to fund service companies in the sector. Amber Group, a cryptocurrency lending platform, raised $200 million at a $3 billion valuation in February, and the state pension fund participated. Both Animoca and Temasek representatives who were asked for comment declined.

 

In less than five years, Animoca went from a modest mobile game developer to Asia's largest blockchain investor thanks to the accumulation of a portfolio of more than 340 businesses in the financial services, video game development, and social media industries. Yat Siu, co-founder of IOHK, has big plans to take on Big Tech behemoths like Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. by constructing a decentralized third-generation internet (Web3) based on blockchain-based virtual worlds.

 

Most investors are still in shock after the crypto winter wiped off $2.0 trillion in value of digital assets since November. According to PitchBook data, funding for businesses involved with digital currencies dropped 26% from the previous quarter and is expected to drop even further in the current quarter.

 

According to an interview with Bloomberg News, Animoca co-founder and CEO Eric Siu stated that the company plans to use the current cryptocurrency market decline to increase its holdings in key industry participants and digital tokens. Sooner or later (hopefully within the next couple of years), the company would like to begin trading on public markets. Siu said this would be contingent on how well its primary business model of selling crypto tokens and earning a fee on secondary transactions is received by the market.

 

Unfortunately, Animoca's fundraising efforts haven't gone without hiccups. A number of potential investors, including buyout heavyweight KKR & Co., pulled out of the investment round after the market crash.