Animoca set to announce $100 million funding deal led by Temasek: Bloomberg

Gaming and Metaverse • August 30, 2022, 7:15AM EDT

Quick Take

Animoca Brands has raised $100 million in a fresh funding round led by Singapore state investor Temasek, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Temasek declined to comment. Animoca had not returned request for comment by the time of publication.

Game software and venture capital company Animoca Brands is set to announce that it has raised yet more capital in the form of convertible bonds, according to a report by Bloomberg on Tuesday.

The crypto investment firm has clinched a $100 million deal with Singaporean Temasek as its lead backer, the report said citing people familiar with the matter.

Convertible bonds may or may not be converted into equity at a later date. This fundraising method is sometimes used in the event that a company does not want to dilute its own shares, or was unable to raise equity capital.

The funds would add to an earlier round announced in January, in which Animoca raised $359 million. It also topped that up with a fundraise of $75 million in July — a move which brought its valuation to almost $6 billion.

"As a matter of policy, Temasek does not comment on market speculation and rumors," a spokesperson for Temasek told The Block. Animoca did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

Investors in the firm's July round included Liberty City Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Alpha Wave Ventures, 10T, SG Spring Limited Partnership Fund, Generation Highway Ltd, Cosmic Summit Investments Limited and others. Liberty City Ventures had led the round in January.

Animoca Brands has proved itself a heavyweight of the crypto gaming and NFT sector, having already invested in more than 150 NFT and metaverse-related companies, including OpenSea, Dapper Labs, Yield Guild Games and Axie Infinity.

The latest $100 million in backing would bring Animoca Brands' total funding to date to over $600 million. Its subsidiary, The Sandbox, has also separately raised $93 million recently.

Temasek has also previously backed crypto trading platform Amber Group and Gods Unchained developer Immutable.

About Author

Lucy is an editor focusing on NFTs, gaming and the metaverse. Prior to joining she worked as a freelancer, with bylines in Wired, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications. Follow her on Twitter: @LHM1.