Singapore-based state-owned fund Temasek is joining Sandbox developer Animoca Brands in a US$100mln funding round, Bloomberg has reported.
Sectors of focus were not disclosed, but both entities have a substantial background in investing in metaverse, NFT and blockchain enterprises.
Temasek intends to lead the financing through convertible bonds, said anonymous sources.
It is not the first time both institutions have partnered up in an investment round- In March, they joined forces in a US$200mln investment round into Australian NFT trading platform Immutable.
Animoca’s subsidiary The Sandbox is one of the largest play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain-based games, clocking in a market capitalisation of US$1.4bn for its native cryptocurrency SAND.
In July, Animoca partnered with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and sports-based NFT platform Autograph to build the world’s largest virtual skatepark.
No dearth of investments during crypto winter
Since starting out as a minor software and gaming company, Animoca has amassed a vast portfolio of more than 340 blockchain (as well as finance, gaming and social media) companies, many bought up in the on going bear market and 2018’s market crash.
Chairman Yat Siu told Bloomberg that these downturns represent an opportunity to buy up stakes in industry players and digital tokens.
Animoca is hardly the only one on a spending spree.
It seems like Sam Bankman-Fried, head of FTX Ventures and Alameda Research, offered a lifeline to almost every crypto platform struggling from the market crash in recent months.
Ultimately his generosity culminated in just a few deals, but the offers were there.
Before baffling the world by extending US$350mln to WeWork founder Adam Neumann’s latest venture, Silicon Valley investment firm Andreessen Horowitz launched its fourth crypto fund worth US$4.5bn at the end of May.