Animoca Brands lowers Q1 fundraising target to $1B

The company previously intended to raise up to $2 billion during the first quarter for a web3 investment fund.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate

Animoca Brands readjusted its fundraising target for a web3 investment fund to $1 billion from a previous goal of $2 billion in the first quarter amid “challenging” market conditions, Bloomberg News reported.

Animoca Brands CEO Yat Siu told Bloomberg:

“[The first quarter] is the goal and then let’s see what happens. It is fair to say it’s a challenging market. But we have quite a bit of interest.”

The investments will be collected under a newly set fund called Animoca Capital. The fund will be primarily concerned with making strategic investments to develop a Web3 ecosystem, and Morgan Stanley’s former executive, Homer Sun, will co-chair.

Animoca is in talks with potential investors who might be interested in supporting Animoca Capital. According to Siu, however, the targeted $1 billion will be spent to support metaverse projects.

Animoca’s future

As of April 2022, Animoca has around $98 million in the cash balance, $870 million worth of liquid crypto, and $4 billion in off-balance sheet coins.

At the beginning of 2022, the company raised $358 million in funding as well. It has stakes in over 380 companies and accepted a hefty investment from Temasek.

Siu said that Animoca is not planning to raise funds for itself in the foreseeable future. Instead, it will focus its funding efforts on growing a Web3 ecosystem.