Metaverse raised $1 billion in the past three months, and Sequoia, SoftBank jumped in on the game.

The end of the metaverse is not the real game.

A great way to get involved in trading is not just peer-to-peer, but also working small from a venture capitalist's perspective.

According to incomplete statistics from "Lianxin", from October 2021 to January 2022, the global investment in Metaverse tracking exceeded $950 million, including companies whose Metaverse infrastructure includes the most financial ones. , up to 46%. AR giant Niantic has raised $300 million, making it the biggest investor yet.

On the other hand, the golden sports Metaverse has received investments from 14 companies, but the revenue is only $80.6 million.

1

"Old Face" continues

On October 28, 2021, social giant Facebook changed its name to Metaverse and announced that it would enter the Metaverse, all beginning the Metaverse's global ascent. In the midst of this craze, venture capitalists are quickly looking for investment targets.

"Lianxin" has amassed 49 public Metaverse financial events from around the world in the past 3 months, with a total investment of over $950 million.

Statistics show that the capital layer of the metaverse is polarized. Among them, companies that develop metaverse platforms and other technologies have strong investment interest. Of the 49 investments, 15 were over $10 million, with a total of $839 million, or 88%.

However, most users of short-term devices such as metaverse games or NFTs, which are now considered the gateway to the metaverse, only earn millions of dollars. Although it accounts for 70% of the total occurrence funding, the total budget is only $120 million.

Perhaps in the eyes of capital, sports and NFTs are just appetizers for the metaverse. The real battle of the future will take place on the metaverse platform, which still needs a lot of money.

Given the current state of capital allocation, the leaders are still ahead.

Eggs are never placed in the same basket, but you can see the scenery on the metaverse by looking at which basket has the most eggs.

Eight of the top 10 companies in terms of financial event revenue, including Lianxin, were formed before 2020. Obviously, despite the metaverse outlook, the company still chooses to invest, it lays more eggs in the basket.

Among them, Niantic, which created 'Pokemon', which received the most money, received 300 million dollars for the development of the metaverse, and ZEPETO, the Korean metaverse platform, now has more than 130 million. users in the field, and Vision Fund 2, completed. . by Softbank, led by $150 million, and Sandbox, third, received $93 million.

Among the top 10 financial companies, there are 4 metaverse platforms, 3 metaverse-based technologies and 3 metaverse applications.

The four companies involved in the metaverse platform are Zepeto, Sandbox, Author, and Mainframe Industries. Among them, Zepeto, Sandbox and Write 3 products have grown and have a large customer base. Mainframe Industries and SIDUS HEROES are rising stars and their products are yet to be released.

2

heavy warehouse blockchain infrastructure

Over the past 3 months, "Lianxin" financial events have been divided into 4 categories: metaverse infrastructure, application, games and platforms.

Of these, 14 metaverse games were worth $80.6 million, 7 metaverse apps were worth $61.35 million, 14 metaverse platforms were worth $369 million, and 14 metaverse infrastructure groups were worth 4.4% 100 millions of dollars.

The Metaverse infrastructure group has become the main investment, and revenue accounts for 46% of the total, making it more profitable than the Metaverse track in the past three months. In this category, companies are involved in VR/AR, virtual world dedicated servers, 3D spatial data tools, AI algorithms, avatars, distributed protocols, etc. They began to cover many procedures necessary for metaverse engineering. Home Investment Approved for Building Metaverse, Xiaomi and Mingshi Capital Invested 400 Million Yuan in Weiling Times, Partner Cloud Server of Popular Mobile Game "Yuan Shen" in 2021. SenseTime Guoxiang Capital Led Mantis Series A Funding Vision with 130 million RMB. According to Mantis Vision, most of the money will be spent on software and hardware R&D of 3D technology, 3D studio landings, and Metaverse content design.

John Hanke, CEO of Niantic, which received the largest investment, had previously spoken out in opposition to the relationship, accusing it of "the idea of ​​a 'dystopian nightmare' metaverse. However, he has later explained that "transformation in the form of LBS AR is the best comparison to virtual reality and welcomes all who develop the AR metaverse for future use. Niantic Lightship Platform. "

The metaverse platform, the mainstay of metaverse tracking, is still the mainstay of today's game. For the 14 companies that received revenues over $10 million. Capital inflows into the market also come from some of the best investment firms in the world, with organizations such as Sequoia, Softbank, Cornerstone and FBG concentrated on the investor list of these platforms.

Of these, Zepeto raised $150 million, Sandbox raised $93 million, and Saud raised $50 million. Obviously, mature platforms are more competitive than capital.

Zepeto is a 3D virtual imaging application launched by South Korean company SNOW, which previously didn't get much in China like platforms like Sandbox and Dcentraland.

According to official data, ZEPETO has gained more than 130 million users worldwide in about 1 year and 6 months since its launch in August 2018. Specifically, the proportion of overseas users has reached 90% and the percentage of young users reaches 80%. a new difference for young users around the world. Thanks to this preference, the number of new users in 2019 increased by 94% compared to 2018. Besides virtualization, the platform has also expanded to various community applications such as classrooms, schools and famous places. .

Metaverse games have always been popular and considered the first metaverse entry. However, in fact, the meaning of the metaverse ambiguity and the final form have not been determined. Many blockchain or sandbox games are classified as metaverse games.

However, from the investment point of view, revenue from blockchain games based on the "play" model is usually angel or seed investment, and the capital is usually several million dollars. In the past three months, Metaverse Fund's total revenue was only 9%.

The current Metaverse application is led by Metaverse Consulting and Metaverse Real Estate Agency in "Lianxin" statistics. Although there are not many fundraisers in this area, the expectations for investment are never low.

Among them, Metaverse's in-game advertising platform Admix received $25 million and digital real estate trading platform Upland received $18 million.

From the development perspective, the Metaverse spin-off application is still in its infancy, a competitive landscape has not yet been developed, and as the development of the Metaverse platform increases, the impact on the market will gradually expand.

Three

Many new companies favor “new investments”.

Old-school companies like SoftBank and Sequoia have recently popped up a number of times among registered investors in the crypto space. As a big winner of the Internet era, it is important not to miss the agenda of the new era.

In the past three months, three of the five largest Metaverse investments have been made by Sequoia and SoftBank, totaling $290 million.

However, in terms of capital layers, the capital layer is more like a basket in the metaverse world.

The AU21 Capital and Animoca brands are key representatives. These two companies have participated in 9 of the 49 investments that include Lianxin.

Founded in 2017, AU21 Capital is a venture capital firm focused on blockchain operations, investing primarily in seed capital, early-issue tokens, and seed trading.

According to Crunchbase, AU21 Capital has invested in a total of 104 projects, including well-known companies such as Axie Infinity, the top blockchain gaming project, and Certik, a blockchain research company.

Animoca Brands is the parent company of the Sandbox metaverse platform and has been involved with several popular companies in the industry, including Axie Infinity, OpenSea, and Dapper Labs.

Now, AU21 Capital and Animoca Brands have invested more in angels or seeds, and their leads are mostly in the category of metaverse-themed blockchain games.

Xiao Yi, Founder of Animoca Brands, told the media why he was excited about mobile games: Blockchain technology has become an integral part of the real estate industry, and the popularity of sports competitions will continue to raise awareness. "

Xiao Yi said: "Finding the time to invest is very important, but the time is difficult to make decisions, especially for those who can have no future limit but do not know their current price, enter the game as soon as possible. as possible and pay the price. If you are late..It costs more."

However, the relationship between existing schools and new schools is not limited to competition on the road and sometimes seems to involve cooperation and division of labor on several levels.

On October 20, 2021, Animoca Brands announced that Sequoia China, Dragonfly Capital and others had closed a $65 million seed round to become participants in this fundraising.

SoftBank, which suffered the most, with a loss of $3.56 billion in the second quarter of 2021, will be more cautious. On October 28, 2021, the CEO of SoftBank Group said: SoftBank Group invests in blockchain infrastructure, but not in cryptocurrencies.

Judging by current investment models, the investment portfolio still prefers to feed existing mature groups. The high risk and high reward of participating in new ventures has gradually shifted to new ventures focused on the metaverse or blockchain. Just like when I first walked online 10 years ago.