Yuga Labs announced it has closed its Series Seed funding round, led by a16z crypto, with participation from top tier game studios like Animoca Brands and its subsidiary The Sandbox, strategic partners like LionTree, Sound Ventures, and Thrive Capital, and crypto leaders like FTX and MoonPay, and other partners and collaborators.

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“This capital will give Yuga speed to market on many things underway, and bring in new partners with strategic thinking that share the vision”

The company raised $450 million, and plans to use the funds to scale its rapidly growing team, attract the best talent across creative, engineering and operations functions, and for joint ventures and partnerships it has planned. On Friday, the company revealed a glimpse of its metaverse project, called Otherside.

“Already, a new economy is possible with the IP of Apes, Punks, and Meebits, owned by the community,” said Nicole Muniz, CEO of Yuga Labs. “The possibilities for blockchain’s impact on culture are endless, and so we are building a beautiful, interoperable world for people to explore and play in. There’s a lot to come.”

“Yuga Labs has quickly become a web3 culture, gaming, and entertainment empire,” said Chris Lyons, general partner at a16z crypto. “Mainstream adoption in web3 is accelerating at lightning speed, and Yuga is at the forefront of merging culture and innovation for everyone to enter the metaverse. We’re thrilled to invest in this brilliant team and their vision, and help forge the next frontier of community-owned entertainment.”

“This capital will give Yuga speed to market on many things underway, and bring in new partners with strategic thinking that share the vision,” said Yuga Labs partner Guy Oseary.

The funding round values Yuga Labs at $4 billion, post-money.

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