Animoca Brands buys major stake in Aussie digital services agency

Nonfungible token (NFT) investment giant Animoca Brands has acquired a significant stake in the Australian digital marketing agency Be Media.

Be Media has locations in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney and has provided Web2 firms with advertising and digital strategy since 2013. While the company isn’t geared toward the crypto sector, the investment seems to be a part of Animoca’s immediate aim to “shepherd companies into Web3.”

According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Be Media will be tasked with seeking out partnerships with top Australian Brands relating to Animoca’s various blockchain-focused initiatives such as NFTs and launching an “open Metaverse.”

“In line with its expanded scope after the acquisition, Be Media has begun an aggressive hiring process in the fields of blockchain development and project management to support the expanding pipeline of opportunities that the company will handle,” the announcement read.

Be Media founder and CEO Jordan Fogarty — who will retain a minor stake and continue with his current role — outlined his enthusiasm for diving into blockchain tech with his firm, noting that he was “honored” to have the chance to help local companies take the plunge into Web3 and “introduce their customers to the metaverse, NFTs, and the power of digital property rights.”

Speaking with the Australian Financial Review (AFR) on Tuesday, Fogarty also suggested that there is currently an “insane” demand from the local business sector to adopt Web3 tech such as NFTs:

“So many brands out there are saying they need to do something in web3, but how, and there’s not many service providers with the skills and experience because it’s so new.”

“At the corporate level I’d be surprised if there aren’t many companies thinking of a strategy in this space,” he added.

Related: ‘Our democracy will better evolve because of DAOs,’ says Animoca's Yat Siu

Animoca Brands, the crypto unicorn valued at around $5 billion, has been on a relentless investment spree over the past couple of years. Last week alone, Cointelegraph reported that the company acquired a 96% stake in Eden Games for $15 million and a 70% stake in Darewise Entertainment.

Both deals are expected to help the company develop triple-A level games backed by blockchain tech. While the investment in Be Media also adds to Animoca Brands’ two other Australian investments, which include gaming firms Blowfish Studios and Grease Monkey Games.