Fundraising insights for the Metaverse in July.

Metaverse Post has put together a detailed report on fundraising activities for July 2022, concentrating on technology firms that are shaping the realms of Web3, the Metaverse, gaming, and NFTs. 

Although terms like 'NFT' and 'DAO' seem to have lost some of their initial allure for investors, the total funds invested in Web3 surged to $6.7 billion in the first half of 2022. Blockchain gaming continues to attract significant interest from investors. July saw venture capitalists and angel investors directing their attention towards startups focused on NFT, avatar creation, digital fashion, and blockchain-integrated social platforms. 

GAMING

Despite a general downturn in the market, the demand for Web3 gaming remains robust. Blockchain gaming startups managed to secure $4.1 billion in funding during the first six months of 2022. In July, gaming ventures pulled in over $150 million in investments.

Soba , an open-world gaming platform, successfully secured $13.6 million. The seed funding was spearheaded by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with contributions from FTX Ventures, Cherry Ventures, Point Nine Capital, and TQ Ventures.

Planetarium Labs , a Web3 gaming network driven by community input, raised $32 million. They intend to develop their ecosystem with tools for gaming and player governance. This Series A funding round was led by Animoca Brands, with additional support from Trust Universe and WeMade.

Blockchain gaming initiative Oasys achieved a funding milestone of $20 million through a private sale, which was led by Republic Capital. Participating investors included Jump Crypto, CryptoCom, Huobi, Kucoin, Gate, bitbank, and Mirana Ventures. 

The independent gaming studio Bravo Ready , based in Canada, secured $3 million in seed funding from Solana Ventures, 6th Man Ventures, and Shima Capital.  The funds will be utilized to expedite software and game development.

The free-to-play soccer game CLUB , which combines play-to-earn elements, raised $3.1 million. This seed round was led by Zee Prime Capital, with participation from ATKA, Merit Circle, CitizenX, Moonlanding Ventures, and Petrock Capital.

Developers behind the Solana-based game MonkeyLeague have successfully raised $24 million. The Series A funding was led by Griffin Gaming Partners and Maverick Ventures Israel, with additional investments from Drive by DraftKings, Vgames, and 6th Man Ventures.

The NFT card game Alchemon , built on Algorand, secured $1 million in a seed funding round led by Borderless Capital. This project also saw backing from Pillar VC and Yieldly.

The Web3 game Mighty Action Heroes successfully raised $10 million. The funding was spearheaded by Framework Ventures, attracting investments from Mirana, Sfermion, Spartan, Dune Ventures, Sanctor Capital, Folius Ventures, Ocular, Polygon, Play Future Fund, Everblue, Ancient8, Ready Player DAO, Razer, Avocado DAO, DWeb3, Great South Gate, and mrblock.

Web3 gaming firm Ambrus Studio completed a funding round with undisclosed financial details. The round was guided by Spartan Group and M13, along with support from CVP NLH, 6th Man Ventures, Axia8, Krypital, Red Building Capital, Cobo, and Bas1s Ventures. 

Ambrus Studio's token funding has successfully reached a valuation of $65 million, and the studio plans to utilize the funds for product development. 

NFT

In the midst of a challenging crypto winter, non-fungible token initiatives are still capturing significant attention and investment. Even with a decline in the volume of NFT sales and some of the major marketplaces downsizing their workforce, the sector continues to intrigue investors. In the first half of 2022, DeFi and NFT ventures collectively raised $203 million. 

In July, venture capital firms committed about $105.4 million to NFT projects. It's important to highlight that a majority of these startups are focused on providing tangible utility and enhancing the usability of NFT platforms. 

DeepNFTValue attracted $4 million in funding. This startup estimates the value of various NFT collections and plans to expand its analysis to prominent collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and Azuki.  The round saw leadership from Rockaway Blockchain Fund, alongside participation from 1Confirmation and Cygni Capital.

Cardinal , a utility protocol for Solana NFTs, raised $4.4 million, with the seed round led by the Protagonist and Solana Ventures. Notable investors include Animoca Brands, Alameda Research, Delphi Digital, and CMS Holdings.

reNFT , a protocol enabling NFT rentals, raised $5 million. The funding round was co-led by Mechanism and gumi Cryptos Capital (gCC), with additional backing from Gemini, The Sandbox, OpenSea, Sfermion, Morningstar Ventures, EveryRealm, OP Crypto, Fourth Revolution Capital, and Metastreet.

Hang , a platform focused on NFT brand loyalty, attracted $16 million in funding. This platform allows users to gain NFT memberships that come with perks simply by being fans.  The Series A round was led by Crypto VC firm Paradigm, with further investment from Tiger Global, Good Friends, Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures, MrBeast’s Night Ventures, and Shrug Capital. 

Unstoppable Domains successfully raised $65 million during a Series A round that pegged its valuation at $1 billion.  This four-year-old company is dedicated to creating digital identity markers as NFTs and plans to use the funds to streamline cryptocurrency payments across various applications.  The funding round was spearheaded by Pantera Capital, with contributions from Mayfield, Gaingels, Alchemy Ventures, Redbeard Ventures, Spartan Group, OKG Investments, Polygon, CoinDCX, and CoinGecko.

Center , which specializes in NFT indexing, raised $11 million in a seed round.  This firm is set to develop a search tool capable of indexing NFTs across multiple blockchain platforms, with backing from VC firms Thrive and Founders Fund. 

FASHION

Interestingly, digital fashion has struggled to catch the eye of Web3 investors. In the first half of 2022, startups in the digital fashion space managed to secure $150 million. 

However, in June, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Meta's Avatar store, providing users with the option to purchase clothing for their virtual avatars. Furthermore, the social media powerhouse is collaborating with brands like Prada, Thom Browne, Balenciaga, and DressX to craft digital fashion apparel.

This may mean that digital clothing could start to attract more attention from users and investors as the year progresses. In July, two digital fashion companies managed to gather a total of $6 million. 

Draup , a Web3 platform dedicated to digital fashion, raised $1.5 million. Their mission is to amplify the value of digital fashion and create transformative impacts.  The pre-seed investment was led by Variant Fund, with participation from TCG Crypto, FLAMINGO DAO, and NEON DAO.

Tribute Brand , a digital fashion house based in Croatia, secured $4.5 million in seed funding. This investment round was led by the crypto-centric venture fund Collab+Currency, which has previously invested in projects like Nifty Island, ArtBlocks, Rarible, and Superrare. Other contributors include Flamingo DAO, RED DAO, Alice Lloyd George, and Lattice Capital.

"What we are doing here is part of a long-term vision. This isn’t just a game of buying and reselling. The idea behind crypto in the realm of digital fashion is to express identity within virtual environments, with blockchain serving as proof of ownership.\"

Gala Marija Vrbanic , Tribute Brand CEO

AVATAR

In the first half of 2022, businesses focused on avatars garnered $130 million. 

In July, Hologram , a company specializing in virtual avatars, raised $6.5 million. They are dedicated to developing blockchain-enabled avatars for platforms like Zoom, VR chats, and Twitch.  The seed round was led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Nascent, Inflection, The Operating Group, Quantstamp, Neon DAO, Foothill Ventures, South Park Commons, and various angel investors. 

SOCIAL NETWORK

During the first half of 2022, social networking startups drew in $130 million, but decentralized social networks alone attracted $43 million just in July.

Lines , an innovative Web3 messaging platform, raised $4 million. The funding round was led by tech entrepreneur Elad Gil, known for his prior investments in firms like Airbnb, Coinbase, and Pinterest. Other contributors included Hash3, Scalar Capital, Volt Capital, Caffeinated Capital, Ethereal Ventures, and Mischief. 

Blockchain-based social network DSCVR raised $9 million in a seed round led by Polychain Capital, with additional support from Upfront Ventures, Tomahawk VC, Fyrfly Venture Partners, Shima Capital, and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), among others. 

Farcaster , which operates a decentralized social network protocol, successfully raised $30 million in a round led by a16z.  Other notable investors include Standard Crypto, 1confirmation, A Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Multicoin Capital, and Scalar Capital.

This ongoing bear market highlights the resilience of our industry, revealing a capacity to create opportunities even through challenging times. Viable and credible ventures continue to attract funding, develop their products, and achieve tangible results. With such promising deals present in the current landscape, it's an excellent time for investment. A big shoutout to all the funds that have moved forward — it’s undoubtedly challenging, but the rewards will be worth it. Here at Cryptomeria Capital, we are also ramping up our efforts to seize every opportunity that arises.

Vadim Krekotin Cryptomeria Capital Founding Partner

Consequently, some of the most active investors in July included:

• Pantera Capital. It led the Series A round for Unstoppable Domains, which has successfully raised a total of $65 million . Pantera Capital is recognized as the first institutional asset manager in the U.S. that has a dedicated focus on blockchain technology. The firm has a history of investing in various NFT marketplaces and blockchain applications, including NEAR, Polkadot, Coinbase Earn, and others.

• Fundraising overview for the Metaverse in July - Metaverse Post

• The Metaverse Post has published a fundraising overview for July 2022, emphasizing technology firms engaged in Web3, the Metaverse space, gaming, and NFTs. 

• July fundraising overview for the Metaverse

• In its recent report for July 2022, the Metaverse Post sheds light on various tech companies involved with Web3, the Metaverse, gaming, and NFTs.  As

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• Originally published on August 10, 2022, at 9:41 AM, with updates following on August 12, 2022, at 3:04 AM.
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