Animoca Brands Courts $50M Investment From Saudi Arabia’s NEOM

Metaverse and gaming venture capital firm Animoca Brands plans to enter into a partnership with Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Investment Fund focused on Web3 initiatives.

The investment fund of NEOM – the project for a new urban area in northwest Saudi Arabia envisioned as a hub for technology, trade, entertainment and tourism – is proposing to invest $50 million in Animoca, according to an announcement on Monday.

Under the plan, Animoca will build Web3 service capabilities with global commercial applications alongside NEOM to support its aspirations as a futuristic tech hub.

A prominent name in the Web3 investment sector over a number of years, Animoca was valued at $6 billion in July 2022 with Singapore’s state investment fund Temasek among its backers. The firm was targeting a raise of $2 billion for its metaverse fund the following November, however expectations were tamped significantly after the collapse of FTX, and Animoca reduced the target to $800 million in March 2023.

Animoca is now attracting investment from state-backed funds once again in what may be a sign of a turning tide in the Web3 venture capital sector amidst broader indications of the crypto winter thawing.