About Boardroom

Boardroom is a sports, media and entertainment brand co-founded by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman and focused on the intersection of sports and entertainment. Boardroom’s flagship media arm features premium video/audio, editorial, daily and weekly newsletters, showcasing how athletes, executives, musicians and creators are moving the business world forward. Boardroom’s ecosystem encompasses B2B events and experiences (such as its renowned NBA and WNBA All-Star events) as well as ticketed conferences such as Game Plan in partnership with CNBC. Our advisory arm serves to consult and connect athletes, brands and executives with our broader network and initiatives.

Recent film and TV projects also under the Boardroom umbrella include the Academy Award-winning Two Distant Strangers (Netflix), the critically acclaimed scripted series SWAGGER (Apple TV+) and Emmy-nominated documentary NYC Point Gods (Showtime).

Boardroom’s sister company, Boardroom Sports Holdings, features investments in emerging sports teams and leagues, including the Major League Pickleball team, the Brooklyn Aces, NWSL champions Gotham FC, and MLS’ Philadelphia Union.

All Rights Reserved. 2022.

Metaverse VC Roundup: Animoca Brands Raises $110M for Web3 Expansion

Last Updated: April 24, 2023
Boardroom’s latest Metaverse VC Roundup also includes fundraising updates from Arpeggi Labs, Internet Game, and more.

The Block Research found that venture funding for NFT and gaming companies rose by 66% in August.

We called out the recent jump in Web3 gaming investments, and earlier this week, prominent NFT project Doodles closed a $54 million funding round at a $704 million valuation. The Block predicts that the non-fungible token and gaming sectors may be the first to make a full recovery from the crypto winter.

This list of Web3 venture capital investments shows that gaming companies are still bringing in the most funding.

Here’s the latest edition of Boardroom’s biweekly Metaverse VC Roundup.

Sign up for our newsletter

Get on our list for weekly sports business, industry trends, interviews, and more.

Arpeggi Labs: $5.1M to build Web3 music software

Arpeggi Labs, a Web3 startup that’s using blockchain technology to build collaborative music software, closed a $5.1 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Arpeggi is working to leverage decentralized tech to develop a suite of open-source music creation tools. Arpeggi said on Twitter that anyone can create, publish, and remix any audio using platform. The company’s seed round included investments from musical artists such as Steve Aoki, Wyclef Jean, and 3LAU.

Animoca Brands: $110M for continued expansion

Animoca Brands closed a $110 million strategic investment round with participation from GGV Capital, Truw Global Ventures, Boyu Capital, and more. The gaming software company will use the new capital for investments, acquisitions, product development, and intellectual property licenses.

This announcement comes after Animoca Brands Japan raised $45 million from its parent company, Animoca Brands, and Japan’s largest bank, MUFG Bank, to work on its local Web3 efforts.

Revolving Games: $25M for Web3 video games

Revolving Games, a blockchain-based game development company, raised a total of $25.2 million across its pre-seed and seed funding rounds.

Pantera Capital, Dapper Labs, Polygon, Animoca Brands, and Rockstar Games co-founder/producer Dan Houser are among some of the key investors that participated in the rounds. The company specializes in video games and plans to use the capital to develop original, decentralized Web3-powered games over the next two years.

Internet Game: $7M to build crypto-based HQ Trivia

A Web3 project called Internet Game closed a $7 million seed round with investments from HQ Trivia co-founder Rus Yusupov, Delphi Digital, Dragonfly Capital, Gmoney, Magic Eden co-founder Zedd, and more.

The company describes itself as “HQ Trivia meets NFTs.” Internet Game reinvented the 2018 daily trivia game known for its 15-minute trivia shows via a free app, awarding split cash prizes to players around the world.

Internet Game’s business model works a bit differently than HQ Trivia’s. Players have to purchase game token NFTs to stake for participation in the company’s games. Players also get to vote on the grand prizes, which include high-level NFTs from collections like Doodles, Azuki, and Bored Ape Yacht Club.

Internet Game launched its second season this month and plans to use the fresh funding to continue hosting games and purchasing NFTs to award to players.

More Investments

  • LA-based Stacked raised $13 million to develop a Twitch-like video streaming platform for Web3 users.
  • Web3 startup SpiceAI closed a $13.5 million seed round led by Madrona Venture Group.
  • GoGoPool, an Avalanche-based decentralized staking protocol, closed a $5 million seed round with investments from Coinfund, Framework Ventures, and more.
  • Crypto developer platform Thirdweb secured a $24 million Series A at a $160 million valuation.
  • GoldSky, a data infrastructure for Web3 startups, raised $20 million in funding co-led by Dragonfly Capital and Felicis.
Sign up for our newsletter

Get on our list for weekly sports business, industry trends, interviews, and more.

Michelai Graham

Michelai Graham is Boardroom's resident tech and crypto reporter. Before joining 35V, she was a freelance reporter with bylines in AfroTech, HubSpot, The Plug, and Lifewire, to name a few. At Boardroom, Michelai covers Web3, NFTs, crypto, tech, and gaming. Off the clock, you can find her producing her crime podcast, The Point of No Return.