Web3 gaming and IP studio Animoca Brands, announced on September 11 that it successfully closed a funding round, raising $20 million to further develop its Mocaverse platform.
At the heart of the successful raise is the development of Moca ID, a key component of the Mocaverse platform, that will serve as a “digital ID” by and through an NFT collection that will enable users to participate in and navigate Mocaverse.
The funding round was led by CMCC Global, with additional contributions from GameFiVentures, Liberty City Ventures, and Kingsway Capital. It also included investments from Animoca’s co-founder Yat Siu (in a personal capacity), Sky Mavis founder Aleksander Larsen, and Yield Guild Games founder Gabby Dizon.
The Mocaverse project is focused on providing Web3-native infrastructure tools to help users and developers build gaming and other entertainment products.
The Moca ID will naturally provide access to Animoca’s extensive portfolio of 450+ companies and projects, opening up a user network of 700+ users.
Mocaverse, according to Animoca, will empower users to “accumulate reputation” and “earn and spend loyalty points.” Embracing a DAO approach, Moca ID will also serve as a digital identity, reputation, and loyalty system for decentralized organizations.
The funding round, led by Asia’s blockchain VC investment vehicle, CMCC Global, is another testament to Siu’s ability to continue leading strategic investment and innovative growth throughout the nascent Web3 space.
The $20 million was reportedly raised through the issuance of Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs) at a price of A$4.50 per share (A$31.3 million).
What is a “SAFE?”
A SAFE traditionally involves an investor like CMCC Global, providing funding to a startup in exchange for the right to receive equity at a later date – subject to certain terms and conditions such as a valuation cap, discount rate, and conversion trigger.
Unlike other traditional investment agreements, SAFEs are more flexible in that they don’t require interest payments or a maturity date – as they aren’t considered to be a loan that would need to be repaid.
As between Animoca Brands and CMCC Global, the SAFE does contain a conversion trigger, where the SAFEs automatically convert into ordinary shares after six months. These “triggers” are usually followed by an event that activates that conversion of the investment into equity – e.g. a future financing round or acquisition.
“Yat Siu has proved time and again his ability to lead Web3 in creative new directions and we are excited to be supporting him and the Animoca Brands team once again as they venture into the Mocaverse,” said Martin Baumann, co-founder of CMCC Global, in a statement to VentureBeat.
Baumann continued by characterizing Mocaverse as a unique identifier in Animoca’s investment portfolio, where the project will eventually become “a portal for hundreds of millions of new users” who want to access Web3 and other metaverse ecosystems.
Editor’s note: This article was written by an nft now staff member in collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-3.
