Animoca Brands Corporation Ltd’s subsidiary The Sandbox has raised US$93 million in its Series B round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the fund’s first investment into crypto assets.
The investment will enable The Sandbox team to scale the platform's growth as a prime entertainment destination where brands, IPs and celebrities can engage with their fans through virtual experiences including games, live performances and social experiences.
The Sandbox is emerging as the main NFT-based, open metaverse, where the content, economy, and even governance will be in the hands of the players, creators and users who contribute to this virtual world.
Tremendous growth in 2021
The Sandbox experienced tremendous growth in 2021, generating more than US$144 million in gross merchandise value (GMV) to date and in excess of 500,000 users now have a connected wallet.
More than 165 brands - including Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari and CryptoKitties - have already formed IP partnerships to create voxelized versions of their worlds and characters in the metaverse.
High-profile LAND owners in The Sandbox include Zed Run, Republic Realm, Binance, Bored Ape Yacht Club, CyberKongz, CoinMarketCap, Metakovan, Pranksy, GrowYourBase, MetaKey, South China Morning Post, Zepeto, Socios, the Winklevoss twins, Bill Lee of Craft Ventures and more.
Global reach and network of brands
The Sandbox chief operating officer and co-founder Sebastien Borget said: "This investment round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 will help scale up our growth strategy, operations, and player acquisition in The Sandbox ecosystem while sending a clear statement that the world's most innovative fund believes in Web3 and decentralization as the next major trend.
"Adding new strategic partners such as Liberty City Ventures and Galaxy Interactive will also benefit The Sandbox's global reach and expand the network of brands, IPs and gaming studios interested in entering an open metaverse focused on a player-owned economy and user-generated content."
Fuel growth
The Sandbox CEO and co-founder Arthur Madrid said: "This investment will help fuel the growth of The Sandbox creators' economy as we expand beyond gaming into fashion, architecture, virtual concerts and shows, art galleries, museums and more.
"We are developing an entire ecosystem that opens new digital job opportunities for players and creators in our open NFT metaverse."
Unlocking new economic opportunities
Softbank Investment Advisers investor Aaron Wong said: “We believe The Sandbox is constructing an open metaverse, unlocking new economic opportunities by empowering people to build and monetize their creations, from avatars and buildings to games and collectibles.
“Leveraging blockchain technology and decentralized governance, the company is putting the power and control in the hands of its users, resulting in a thriving global community.
“We're excited to partner with Arthur, Sebastien and team as they continue to transform what it means to have true digital ownership."
Fundraising round
Other investors joining the fundraising round to support The Sandbox’s NFT-based entertainment metaverse included Animoca Brands, True Global Ventures, Liberty City Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, Kingsway Capital, Blue Pool Capital, LG Technology Ventures, Alpaca VC, Graticule Asset Management Asia, Com2uS, executives at GoldenTree Asset Management, Nokota, Sun Hung Kai & Co, Sound Ventures, Red Beard Ventures, SCB 10X, Polygon Studios, Samsung Next, Double Down Partners, StakeFish, SterlingVC and HodlCo.
Wedbush Securities acted as exclusive placement agent and financial advisor for The Sandbox while Rubicon Law provided legal counsel.
New additions to advisory team
The Sandbox has also added the following to its advisory team:
➢ Guy Oseary, founder of the management firm Maverick, whose clients include Madonna, U2, and Bored Ape Yacht Club;
➢ Nicholas Adler, manager and brand curator of entertainment icon, Snoop Dogg;
➢ Thomas Vu, former executive producer and head of franchise and creative at Riot Games; and
➢ Mathieu Nouzareth, co-founder of FreshPlanet and creator of SongPop.
Not just a gallery of games
One of the unique aspects of The Sandbox is that it is not just a gallery of games but a virtual world with a topographical layout that allows exploration using the player’s 3D avatar.
As the player walks to the border of one LAND, the player can walk into an adjoining LAND, making the location of a game experience very similar to real-world real estate where one’s location and neighbours are nearly as important as the quality of the entertainment experience.
In The Sandbox, players will be able to use the play-to-earn model to monetize time spent in the metaverse.
Play-to-earn creates a circular economy with supply and demand where the resources collected by one category of the players are sold and purchased by another category of player or creator, rewarding participants for their time
Building on existing The Sandbox IP that has more than 40 million global installs on mobile,
The Sandbox is a metaverse that offers players and creators a decentralized and intuitive platform to create immersive 3D worlds and game experiences and to safely store, trade, and monetize their creations.