Galaxy Interactive, a venture capital firm focused on next-generation interactive technology, has announced it has raised $325 million for its second fund from 70 different investors. The fund is focused on virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and blockchain-based games. In a Tuesday announcement, Galaxy Digital, the majority owner of Galaxy Interactive, stated that $150 million from the fund has already been allocated to new portfolio companies, including Republic, 1047 Games, Elodie, Roar, Art Blocks and Masterworks, with other additional investments to be announced in coming months. Established in 2018 by general partners Sam Englebardt and Richard Kim, the company …
The metaverse continues to be the next attraction point of crypto for investors, with The Sandbox, an Animoca Brands subsidiary and nonfungible token (NFT) metaverse platform, raising fresh capital in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Marking SoftBank Vision Fund 2’s first investment into the crypto assets, The Sandbox’s Series B round saw $93 million raised with the participation of Animoca Brands, True Global Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, SCB 10X, Polygon Studios and Samsung Next, among others. According to the announcement, The Sandbox aims to speed up the growth of its open metaverse with games, live performances and …
Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent has filed for a virtual concerts patent with the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) according to business data-tracker Qichacha. The application comes as Chinese companies race to secure Metaverse trademarks. Even though the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) took a strong stance against the Metaverse and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in November, stating that it would track them with Anti-Money Laundering tools, more than a thousand Chinese companies have submitted over 16,000 metaverse-related trademark applications according to a report from Chinese news outlet, The Paper. Despite the warnings, the Chinese multinational technology and video-game colossus Tencent, …
The world is becoming more connected as cryptocurrency, blockchain, nonfungible token projects, the Metaverse and other online communities gain popularity. However, we’re also seeing rates of depression and feelings of isolation and loneliness skyrocket. This development is certainly not causal, but it is something to consider as younger generations become more involved in virtual spaces. The global COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a national mental health crisis. Mental Health America reported that 47.1 million people in the U.S. are living with a mental health condition. That’s one in five Americans, folks. Unsettling as those figures may be, progress is being made …
According to metaverse platform, Metajuice, almost three out of four of the nonfungible token (NFT) collectors on its platform purchase NFTs for status, uniqueness and aesthetics. While current NFT sales are not as high as during the peak in 2021, the space still holds on, with users giving various reasons for buying NFTs. In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, Metajuice highlighted that their team surveyed over 6,000 NFT users to discover the motivations behind NFT purchases. The survey results showed that among the reasons laid out by the researchers, standing out and wearing the NFTs as their avatar were the …