Animoca Brands will seek to raise $1 billion for its Metaverse investment fund earlier this year, scaling back its earlier ambitions to raise up to $2 billion.
“We initially looked at a target of $1 billion, but we still don’t know if it will be higher or lower,” said Yat Xu, president of Animoca Brands. Twitter Spaces: With Bloomberg. “Given the market circumstances, it could be less.”
Siu previously told Nikkei that the fund, Animoca Capital, could raise between $1 billion and $2 billion. But his comments were made before FTX collapsed and before Animoca raised money for a new fund, and that goal is now closer to the low end.
Siu confirmed that the fundraising process will take place in the first quarter of this year.
He added that while the market is not “very bullish” after the collapse of FTX, there are still plenty of sources of capital for the new company.
“There are still a few capital groups interested in this space,” says Xu, adding that he expects more to come from Asia than the United States.
Despite the pessimism plaguing the industry, VC firms continue to pour money into the crypto space.
Sue said Animoca also recently closed a funding round for one of its portfolio companies, but declined to say which one. He said the capital came from “well-known and high profile investors”.
“I want to say that there is capital in the sector,” he said.
Animoca is exploring a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Xu was bullish on Asia’s prospects as a cryptocurrency leader throughout the conversation, even suggesting that his company now favors Hong Kong over the US as the best location for an IPO.
“Places like Asia, especially Hong Kong, are starting to look more attractive with their cryptocurrency policies, with their desire to be leaders in the space,” he said. “And the fact that we are also in Hong Kong is a big advantage.”
The company was previously listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2015 but delisted in 2020 due to difficulties in complying with various listing rules on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Since then, Animoca Brands has raised millions from companies such as UbiSoft, Sequoia Capital and SoftBank in successive rounds of funding. Another round in September 2022 was led by Temasek and GGV Capital, valuing the business at $6 billion in an effort to make it “pre-IPO ready”.
Sue said on Thursday that it was a matter of “when” not “if” the company would go public and that its preferred listing venue could change. “Of course, we like Hong Kong a lot more recently.”