The Sandbox raises $93M to expand its NFT metaverse

SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the $93 million Series B round, marking the fund’s first investment into crypto assets.

The metaverse continues to be the next attraction point of crypto for investors, with The Sandbox, an Animoca Brands subsidiary and nonfungible token (NFT) metaverse platform, raising fresh capital in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

Marking SoftBank Vision Fund 2’s first investment into the crypto assets, The Sandbox’s Series B round saw $93 million raised with the participation of Animoca Brands, True Global Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, SCB 10X, Polygon Studios and Samsung Next, among others.

According to the announcement, The Sandbox aims to speed up the growth of its open metaverse with games, live performances and social experiences while “supporting more creators and involving more brands and intellectual properties.”

The game enables players to monetize their time spent in the metaverse in different ways, also known as the play-to-earn model. It creates a circular economy where the resources collected by one category of players are sold and purchased by another category of player or creator, the announcement reads.

As an NFT-based open metaverse, The Sandbox is known for its partnerships with over 165 brands — including Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari and CryptoKitties — “to create voxelized versions of their worlds and characters on the platform.“ Binance, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Socios, the Winklevoss twins and CoinMarketCap bought digital land in the metaverse of The Sandbox.

The Sandbox CEO and co-founder Arthur Madrid shared the team’s plans to expand into fashion, architecture, virtual concerts and shows, art galleries, and museums. “We are developing an entire ecosystem that opens new digital job opportunities for players and creators in our open NFT metaverse,” he added.

Related: Animoca Brands doubles valuation to $2.2B with new $65M funding round

Aaron Wong, an investor at SoftBank Investment Advisers, explained that The Sandbox is leveraging blockchain and decentralized governance to give power and control to its users:

“We believe The Sandbox is constructing an open metaverse, unlocking new economic opportunities by empowering people to build and monetize their creations, from avatars and buildings to games and collectibles.”

Last month, The Sandbox parent company Animoca Brands, backed by gaming giants like Ubisoft Entertainment, also raised $65 million in new funding round, doubling its valuation to $2.2 billion.