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Top 7 VCS leading the NFT investment boom

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With venture capitalists increasingly interested in the NFT industry, more ground-breaking innovations are undoubtedly on the way. We are moving from Web 2 to Web 3, and NFT will play an important role.

Top 7 VCS leading the NFT Investment Boom

原文作者：老雅痞

NFT sales surged more than $10 billion in the third quarter of 2021, according to a Reuters report. In addition, Brandessence market research shows that between the first half of 2021 and the third quarter of 2021, NFT transactions increased 328%. This shows that the NFT industry is growing rapidly and attracting more professional and institutional players into the industry.

Just recently, cryptocurrency billionaire Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital Holdings, announced the launch of his NFT philanthropic project.

A few days ago, Nike, an American multinational shoe company, announced the acquisition of Studio RTFKT, an NFT collectibles and fashion startup.

In addition, American multi-millionaire Justin Kan has launched his own NFT market, called Fractal.

Yes, billionaires and leading entrepreneurs are entering the NFT market, but when it comes to investing in the NFT market, venture capital firms are making the biggest moves.

Who is the main player in the action and investment in this industry is very important. Here are arguably the leading venture capital firms and investors in the NFT industry, and everyone can see why they are on this list. If you have a project, your project could be the next project these people invest in. If you're an NFT collector, paying attention to these names can be helpful in your analysis of the industry and finding the next gem for your collection.

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)

a16z 是 NFT 市场上最大的初创企业风险投资商之一。它是一家位于硅谷的风险投资公司，支持大胆的创业者用技术改造世界。

在 PitchBook 2021 年 11 月的一篇文章中，按价值计算， a16z 参与了 NFT 公司所有 VC 交易的 39.27%。 a16z 只参与市场上价值最大的交易。

Some of A16Z's notable investments in the NFT market include a $150 million investment in gaming platform Mythical Games in a Series C funding round valued at $1.25 billion. Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the $152 million Series B round at a $3 billion valuation for Axie Infinity, a blockchain-enabled play-for-money video game company.

In March 2021, A16Z was the lead investor in a $23 million funding round for OpenSea, a popular NFT marketplace. And they were part of A $21 million Series A funding round by Faraway, A browser-based NFT developer.

In September 2021, A16Z is a returning investor in a new round of funding from Dapper Lab, the creator of NBA Top Shot and Flow blockchains, which uses blockchain technology to bring NFT and new forms of digital engagement to fans around the world.

a16z 在 3 月早些时候是 NBA Top Shot 3.05 亿美元融资的投资者，也是 Forte 7.25 亿美元 B 轮融资的主要投资者之一，Forte 是一个基于区块链 NFT 的游戏平台。

In November 2021, A16Z invested $55 million in NFT-based music rights startup Royal in A series A funding round, And NFT-based music startup Sound.Xyzan announced it had raised $5 million in a seed round led by A16Z.

Coatue

Coatue Management LLC is a global investment firm focused on public and private companies in the technology, media and telecommunications industries.

In March 2021, Coatue led a funding round for Dapper Lab that raised $305 million for the NTF-based company behind Cryptokitties and the NBA Top Shot.

The investment firm also led a new round of funding for Dapper Lab in September 2021, which resulted in a $250 million round.

Coatue also played a role in raising more than $125 million for NFT marketplace OpenSea.

Benchmark

Benchmark is a Venture capital firm based in San Francisco that provides seed money to start-ups.

In February 2021, Benchmark led A $50 million Series A round for Sorare, A football-based NFT market.

Benchmark was also a return investor in Sorare's Series B financing of $680 million in September 2021.

Moonrock Capital

Moonrock Capital is a leading NFT financing venture Capital firm based in the UK and Germany.

In May 2020, Moonrock Capital co-led an initial seed round of funding for CoinBurp, a London-based cryptocurrency platform that built a "CoinBase for NFTs "application ecosystem.

In December 2021, Moonrock Capital announced an undisclosed investment in gaming platform Exeedme.

Earlier this year, the company also made an undisclosed investment in Showcase, a social NFT app that Bridges influencers and fans.

Moonrock also announced an undisclosed investment in Phuture, a decentralized protocol for token-based passive investments built on a Web3 environment.

In May 2021, Moonrock Capital announced another undisclosed investment in Jenny, a community-controlled metaverse DAO, and they also launched an NFT.

Animoca brand

Animoca Brands is a software and venture capital firm based in Hong Kong.

In November 2021, Animoca Brands led a $2.7 million seed funding round for MetaMundo, a 3D NFT marketplace for building the metamuniverse.

The venture capital firm also participated in raising $10 million in funding for Unicly, the NFT protocol for community governance, to launch its new product, Unicly V2.

In October 2021, Animoca Brands participated in an $8.3 million seed round for Genopets, an NFT mobile money-making gaming platform where players are rewarded for their real-world steps.

Divergence Ventures

Divergence Ventures is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California.

In January 2021, Divergence Ventures raised $6.8 million for Fractional, Arts and Entertainment NFT.

In February 2021, they raised $2 million for Async Art, an NFT based Art company.

In September 2021, Divergence Ventures also raised a total of $10 million for Cybertino, an NFT-based infrastructure company.

They were involved in raising an undisclosed amount of funding for Project Galaxy, an NFT as a service infrastructure company that aims to empower communities, developers, and creators to achieve new levels of community engagement and retention.

In May 2021, Divergence Ventures participated in a $500,000 pre-seed round for Anima, an augmented reality NFT platform.

Coinbase Ventures

Coinbase Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in start-ups building open financial systems.

In May 2021, Coinbase Ventures participated in a $500,000 pre-seed round for Anima, an augmented reality NFT platform.

They also participated in A $30 million Series A funding round for NFT-based digital art platform Makersplace in September 2021.

conclusion

These are some of the venture capital firms that invest in the NFT industry. With venture capitalists increasingly interested in the NFT industry, more ground-breaking innovations are undoubtedly on the way. We are moving from Web 2 to Web 3, and NFT will play an important role.

With the great achievements of the NFT industry in 2021, 2022 is sure to bring even more growth to the industry.