A subsidiary of Animoca Brands, The Sandbox, a leading user-generated content (UGC) metaverse platform has raised $20 million through a strategic funding. Animoca Brands made the disclosure on Friday through a post on its official page on X (formerly X).
As revealed, The Sandbox raised the fund using convertible promissory notes with a valuation cap of $1 billion. More so, top firms like Kingsway Capital, Animoca Brands, LG Tech Ventures, and True Global Ventures all participated in the funding effort. Meanwhile, the metaverse platform will leverage the funds to push its vision to advance the next generation of the decentralized virtual world.
Likewise, the funding effort will also support The Sandbox to nurture a decentralized virtual world that combines culture and gaming. Animoca Brands added that the injection of the funds into the metaverse platform will support the improvement of creators’ opportunities. Hence, the funds will also support the enhancements of some features that are synonymous with the metaverse platform.
Some of these features according to Animoca Brands are Game Maker and VoxEdit 3D editor tools, introduction of new social interactions and abilities for avatars, and augmented multiplayer gameplay choices. After completing the funding exercise, The Sandbox will now shift focus to fast-track the release of a mobile version for its decentralized metaverse that is labeled for launching in 2025.
Recall that The Sandbox released its Alpha version in November 2023 and it has become a success, surpassing various significant milestones. So far, the decentralized metaverse has recorded more than 1,000 user-generated experiences and 5.7 million active user accounts.
Additionally, the firm has collaborated with more than 400 partners, including high-profile brands like Lionsgate, Hellboy, Magnificent Century, and Warner Music. Moving forward, the platform has scheduled more than 100 brand-related experiences for release in 2024.
Reaction of Top Executives from The Sandbox and Animoca Brands
The CEO and co-founder of The Sandbox, Arthur Madrid, provided insights into the focus of the firm to design creative innovations that will provide new opportunities for content creators. Also, the COO and co-founder of The Sandbox, Sebastien Borget, while welcoming new strategic partners stated that the platform is committed to making Web3 opportunities accessible to a wider audience.
However, the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, Yat Sui expressed his excitement about the potential of user-generated content games. Yat Sui cited the projection of McKinsey that the metaverse could soar to a $5 trillion valuation by 2030. He added that The Sandbox symbolizes the next evolution of UGC games, stating that it offers digital property rights to users.
Following the completion of the funding exercise, the price of SAND, the native token of the platform reacted to the news by a minimal fraction. According to Coinmarketcap, SAND is up by 0.52%, trading at $0.4705.Â
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