Yat Siu got his company delisted from the Australian Stock Exchange for being too into crypto and treated it like a badge of honor. Animoca Brands became the most prolific investor in Web3 gaming — 450+ investments — essentially betting that blockchain will transform how people play and own digital assets. The Sandbox was briefly the hottest thing in the metaverse. Then the crypto winter hit, NFT prices collapsed 90%, and the metaverse went from buzzword to punchline. Animoca is still standing, still investing, and still convinced that digital property rights in games will be enormous. If they are right, they own a piece of everything. If they are wrong, they own a piece of nothing.
Founded
2014
HQ
Hong Kong
Total Raised
$600 million+
Founder
Yat Siu
Status
Private (valued at $5.9B in 2022, likely lower post-crypto winter)
Website
www.animocabrands.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Yat Siu founded Animoca Brands in 2014 as a mobile gaming company. The company was delisted from the Australian Stock Exchange in 2020 after pivoting heavily into blockchain and NFTs — the exchange did not know how to value crypto-native assets.
Rather than treating the delisting as a failure, Siu doubled down on Web3. Animoca became one of the most prolific investors in the blockchain gaming space, deploying capital across 450+ projects.
The Sandbox became one of the most recognized metaverse platforms during the 2021 NFT boom.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Animoca Brands is a Hong Kong-based Web3 and gaming conglomerate that invests in and develops blockchain games, NFT platforms, and metaverse projects. The company has made over 450 investments across the Web3 ecosystem.
Revenue comes from game operations, NFT sales, token investments, and subsidiary operations. Animoca's portfolio includes The Sandbox (a decentralized virtual world), Quidd (digital collectibles), and stakes in dozens of blockchain gaming companies.
THE PRODUCTS
The Sandbox (metaverse platform), REVV Motorsport (blockchain racing), Phantom Galaxies (blockchain RPG), Quidd (digital collectibles), 450+ portfolio investments
HOW THEY GREW
Be the venture arm of Web3 gaming. Animoca invests in and partners with blockchain game developers globally, providing capital, technology, and distribution.
The strategy: if blockchain gaming takes off, Animoca wins because it has stakes in hundreds of projects across the ecosystem. It is essentially an index fund for Web3 gaming.
THE HARD PART
The crypto winter. When NFT prices collapsed in 2022-2023 and the metaverse hype faded, Animoca's portfolio valuations plummeted.
Many of the blockchain games Animoca invested in lost 90%+ of their token value. The company delayed its planned funding rounds and was forced to mark down investments.
The fundamental question: is blockchain gaming a real category or a speculative bubble? The answer is still unclear.
MONEY TRAIL
Series B
2021 · Led by
$65M raised
Series C
2022 · Led by
$75M raised
Convertible Note
2022 · Led by
$110M raised
WHO BACKED THEM
Temasek, GIC, Sequoia China, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Liberty City Ventures
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