The Japan division of Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands, Animoca Brands KK, has secured US $45 million from its parent company and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank (MUFG), increasing the division’s worth to US $500 million.
Each company contributed US $22.5 million to the investment, which was shared evenly between Animoca Brands and MUFG Bank. According to a statement from Animoca Brands, a partnership with MUFG has also been taken into consideration for commercial potential including NFT.
The additional funding will be used to procure intellectual property (IP) rights, enhance internal capabilities, and encourage the use of Web3.
This year, Animoca Brands introduced Animoca Brands KK. The project’s goal was to create a blockchain-based platform that would assist local IP owners in growing fan bases by creating their own NFTs and fungible tokens.
The managing director and senior portfolio manager of Millennium Capital Management, Motoki Tani, now oversees the Japanese division. He formerly oversaw the trading of yen bonds at JP Morgan.
The MCP IPX One Fund, which was established by MCP Asset Management and Animoca Brands, provided $10 million to Animoca Brands KK as part of its seed round in February.
In the meanwhile, Liberty City Ventures, Kingsway Capital, and Alpha Wave Ventures were among the investors that contributed to Animoca Brands’ $75.3 million US fundraising in July.
