Open metaverse company Animoca Brands has announced a strategic partnership with NEOM Company, the company behind Saudi Arabia’s iconic project NEOM City, to drive regional Web3 initiatives in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan.
Animoca Brands will work with NEOM on building Web3 enterprise service capabilities with global commercial applicability, which will be deployed to support technology advancements in Riyadh and the NEOM region.
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These projects will include a range of Web3 initiatives, including plans to establish a hub within NEOM to nurture the local Web3 ecosystem and bring in extensive capabilities from across Animoca Brands and its subsidiaries, partners, and a broad portfolio of investments.
As part of the deal, NEOM Investment Fund (the strategic investment arm of NEOM) has proposed investing US$50 million in Animoca via convertible notes and secondary share purchase.
Majid Mufti, CEO of NEOM Investment Fund, commented: “Web3 technology and infrastructure development will not only be an important foundation of NEOM’s tech stack and architecture, but also has potential to revolutionise global industries. By partnering with a market-leading company like Animoca Brands, we hope to accelerate Web3 technology development and adoption.”
NEOM is a region being built in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea. It will include hyperconnected, cognitive cities, ports and enterprise zones, research centres, sports and entertainment venues and tourist destinations. As a hub for innovation, entrepreneurs, business leaders and companies will come to research, incubate and commercialise new technologies and enterprises in groundbreaking ways.
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Animoca Brands develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products, including original games such as The Sandbox, PHANTOM GALAXIES, Life Beyond, and Crazy Defense Heroes, and products utilising popular intellectual properties from the worlds of sports and entertainment, such as The Walking Dead, Power Rangers, MotoGP, and Formula E.
It has multiple subsidiaries, including The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Forj, Lympo, Animoca Brands Japan, Grease Monkey Games, Eden Games, Darewise Entertainment, Notre Game, TinyTap, Be., PIXELYNX, WePlay Media, and Gryfyn.
Animoca is also an active Web3 investor, with a portfolio of over 400 investments, both directly and through Animoca Ventures, including Yuga Labs, Axie Infinity, Polygon, Consensys, Fireblocks, OpenSea, Dapper Labs, Yield Guild Games, and Alien Worlds.
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