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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.

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Big Tech & AI October 15, 2022
Michelai Graham
Michelai Graham

Metaverse VC Roundup: Cool Cats Secures Strategic Investment From Animoca Brands

Last Updated: January 11, 2024
Boardroom’s latest Metaverse VC Roundup also includes fundraising updates from Coolkicks, Muus Collective, and more.

The fourth and final quarter of the year is well underway, and venture capital is still pouring millions into Web3-focused startups.

In the latest edition of Boardroom’s biweekly Metaverse VC Roundup, we highlight recent investments in startups working on NFTs, collectibles trading platforms, blockchain-based games, and more.

Cool Cats Nabs Strategic Investment from Animoca Brands

Animoca Brands invested an undisclosed amount into Cool Cats Group to kick off the pair’s strategic partnership.

Cool Cats Group is the creator behind the popular Cool Cats NFT project, a collection of 9,999 randomly generated and stylistically curated NFTs based on the Blue Cat comic character. Cool Cats Group’s partnership with Animoca Brands follows a pact with GAMEE, an Animoca Brands subsidiary company, which helped it create a virtual gaming environment for Cool Cats holders to interact in.

This new partnership between Cool Cats Group and Animoca Brands was a long time coming, as Cool Cats Group Executive Chairman Ken Cron and Animoca Brands co-founder and Executive Chairmain Yat Siu have a longstanding relationship. Cron has also been an advisor on Animoca Brands’ board of directors for the past two years.

“Our belief in what the Cool Cats team has built, along with our commitment to the NFT space – which we believe will unlock the next frontier of gaming – could not be stronger,” Siu said in an official news release.

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MynaSwap: $6M for a Trading and Vaulting Platform

Coolkicks, a collectible sneaker retail chain founded by sneakerhead Adeel Shams, raised $6 million to launch a trading and vaulting platform for collectibles called MynaSwap. The new endeavor attracted investments from the Avalanche ecosystem fund Blizzard, Spartan Capital, Wave Financial, and NFL players Odell Beckham Jr. and Kyler Murray.

MynaSwap’s vaulting capabilities can hold collectibles such as sneakers, sports cards, and watches. The startup’s platform will let users buy, sell, and trade their prized collectibles. MynaSwap will authenticate tradeable items and mint them as digital assets before storing them in its high-security vault.

The Web3 company plans to launch its new platform by the end of the year.

Muus Collective: $5M for Web3 Fashion Game

Los Angeles-based Muus Collective raised $5 million in a funding round led by Griffin Gaming Partners.

Muus Collective is a fashion-focused studio creating Web3 games and digital collectibles for diverse communities. Emily Wang, managing director at LionTree and Griffin Gaming Partners, helped launch the women-led gaming startup. LionTree and Griffin Gaming Partners will support Muus Collective through its launch. The startup’s first project is developing a Web3 mobile styling game set for release mid-next year that will allow players to earn monetary rewards.

As part of the deal, Wang and Boyoung Kim of Griffin Gaming Partners will serve on Muus Collective’s board of directors.

More Investments

  • Blockchain game developer Horizon closed a $40 million Series A funding round led by Morgan Creek Digital and Brevan Howard Digital.
  • Newly launched Web3 agency METAV.RS raised $3 million to expand globally, develop its platform, and recruit a team.
  • Scale3, a Web3 infrastructure startup founded by two former Coinbase employees, raised $5.3 million from Redpoint Ventures, Mysten Labs, and Howard University.
  • Asset management company Fidelity expanded its crypto offerings with a new Ethereum Index Fund that has raised $5 million already.
  • Crypto investment platform Pillow closed an $18 million Series A co-led by Accel, Quona capital, Elevation Capital, and Jump Capital.
  • Andreessen Horowitz led a $40 million Series B round for Web3 data startup Golden. The company will use the capital to build its decentralized and incentivized data protocol.

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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.