Hong Kong Startup News Roundup - July 12 2021

Animoca Brands completes US$138.88m capital raise with second tranche of US$50m

Animoca Brands, the company bringing digital property rights to gamers via NFTs, today announced that it has closed a second and final tranche of US$50 million in its US$138.88 million unicorn capital raise, conducted at a pre-money valuation of US$1 billion. Investors in this second tranche included Blue Pool Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Gobi Partners, Korea Investment Partners, Liberty City Ventures, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, Scopely, Token Bay Capital, zVentures (the corporate venture arm of Razer Inc.), and other prominent investors.

A partnership with Hong Kong cartoon - McDull, whose owners have purchased land in The Sandbox.

The Sandbox, the decentralized gaming virtual world from Animoca Brands, announced today that it has partnered with “McDull”, the popular animated figure created in Hong Kong by Brian Tse and Alice Mak, to bring the lovable piglet and friends to the Metaverse. In The Sandbox, McDull fans of all ages will have the opportunity to create their own stories and adventures and play with the McDull family of characters in a colorful, interconnected world.  The virtual McDull gaming experience in The Sandbox will be built by Hong Kong artists and the Index Game development studio, and a special contest will allow fans to own virtual land next to the McDull Estate. The Sandbox enables anyone to create user generated content (UGC) gaming experiences and to share those experiences with other players, and soon fans everywhere will be able to take part in the quirky and unique world of McDull and to use McDull characters in their games.

Another new partner to build community activities around NFTs is Queens Park Rangers Football Club:

Animoca Brands and Queens Park Rangers Football Club announced today that they will develop and launch non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on the popular English football team, starting with sets of limited edition collectibles to be launched later in the year. Animoca Brands and the club’s holding company, QPR Holdings Limited, entered into a partnership agreement providing Animoca Brands with a global licence to produce and publish NFTs for Queens Park Rangers Football Club. Queens Park Rangers, also known as QPR, was founded in 1882 as Christchurch Rangers. The team was officially renamed Queens Park Rangers after a merger with St. Jude’s Institute in 1886. The club competes in the English Football League Championship, the second tier of English football.

BSN architect firm Red Date raises $30 million 

Red Date Technology, the firm building the government-backed blockchain platform Blockchain Services Network (BSN), announced on June 10 that it had completed a $30 million Series A funding round with various global investors. 

Nansen raises $12M from a16z to help investors make sense of crypto market

Blockchain analytics startup Nansen is building a product for crypto traders and hedge funds to more confidently navigate the world of decentralized finance. Their product analyzes public blockchain information across some 90 million Ethereum wallets to clue users into evolving opportunities.