M2 MONITOR: Feb 11, 2022
This week we had more earning results and a flurry of company announcements:
- Polygon raises $450M
- Krafton plans to build an NFT metaverse platform
- New references out on Apple’s ‘RealityOS’
- Disney CEO says metaverse is “top of mind” for the company
INDUSTRY NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF: Feb 11, 2022
Animoca Brands and Brinc Launch $30M Guild Program for Play-to-Earn Ecosystems
Apocalypse Studios raises seed funding from Tyr for Deadhaus Sonata game
Career long VFX and game design vets form Blinkmoon studio
F1 Esports sees record-breaking viewership and engagement figures in 2021
‘Frutti Dino’ creator secures funding from South Korean game publisher Neowiz
Hiro Metaverse Acquisitions raises $155.7m via IPO
Krafton invests $6.6 million to create and sell NFT avatars
Lost Ark has over 500,000 concurrent players on Steam, and it hasn’t even launched yet
Report: Google Stadia Has Been ‘Deprioritized’
Saudi Arabia’s Neom to build AAA studio with MBC Group
Sony to open new 65,000 sq ft Liverpool office
3D content collaboration startup Taichi Graphics closes $50M Series A
Bandai Namco is making its own $130 million ‘IP metaverse’
Epic has filed a trademark for the ‘Epic Games Megaverse’
Gucci buys virtual land on The Sandbox as part of metaverse experience bid
Kyro raises $10M for next-gen crypto marketplace platform
Meta Announces New Virtual Event to Share How it’s Using AI to Build for the Metaverse Shift
Metaverse Land Investor Everyrealm Raises $60M Led by Andreessen
Motion Capture NFTs Are Making Their Way To The Metaverse
NFL and Roblox team up to build metaverse presence
Polygon raises $450M from Sequoia Capital India, SoftBank and Tiger Global
PUBG maker Krafton announces plans to build an NFT metaverse platform
Samsung to launch Galaxy S22 in the metaverse
Apple’s ‘RealityOS’ may be a baby step into a new computing paradigm
Dimenco’s Glasses-Free 3D Display a Hint of Things to Come
Foo Fighters to Play Concert in VR for Free After the Super Bowl
Monthly-connected VR Headsets on Steam Blast Through 3 Million Milestone
More than 120 Quest VR titles have generated revenue in the $millions
Quest 2 SDK Documentation Leaks ‘Body Tracking Support’ Option
Snap clocks first quarterly profit, India expansion helps growth globally
Tobii ‘In Negotiation’ To Supply PlayStation VR2’s Eye Tracking Tech
Vuzix Expands its Logistics Operations in Europe to Support its Growing European Business
3D content collaboration startup Taichi Graphics closes $50M Series A
Cesium for Open 3D Engine Released
Deepdub, Israeli Startup Using AI for Dubbing, Raises $20M From Kevin Reilly, Others
Intel’s MCM Design Patent Could Be A Sneak Peek At Future Arc Gaming GPUs
Nvidia Deal to Buy Arm From SoftBank Is Off After Setbacks
INVESTMENT INDEX FOR THE WEEK OF: Feb 11, 2022
| DATE | TYPE | COMPANY | INVESTORS – ACQUIRERS | AMOUNT (M) | CATEGORY | FOCUS | CITY |
| 2/7/22 | Acquisition | Molecule VFX | Crafty Apes | – | VFX | 3D Production | Los Angeles |
| 2/7/22 | Investment | Polygon Studios | Sequoia Capital India, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Tiger Global, Galaxy Digital and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six | $450.0 | Games | Blockchain | Dubai |
| 2/8/22 | IPO | Hiro Metaverse Acquisitions | IPO London | $155.7 | Metaverse | Games | London |
| 2/8/22 | Acquisition | ShortRound Games | Mythical Games | – | Games | Blockchain | Brighton |
| 2/8/22 | Acquisition | Storms | iCandy Interactive | $3.5 | Games | Social | Singapore |
| 2/9/22 | Investment | Seoul Auction Blue | Krafton | $6.6 | Metaverse | NFT Avatars | Seoul |
| 2/10/22 | Investment | Ethernal Labs | Black Edge Capital, Polygon Studios, Michael Rubin, Eric Schmidt, THomas Vu, Morningstar Ventures | $20.0 | Metaverse | Games Studio | |
| 2/10/22 | Acquisition | NanoTribe | Zynga/Rollic | – | Games | Developer | Berlin |
| 2/10/22 | Investment | Strider | 1kx, Decasonic, Scalar Capital, Sfermion, Metaorient, Yield Guild Games (YGG), angel investors | $3.0 | Metaverse | Creator Platform | New York |
| 2/10/22 | Investment | Everyrealm | Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, NBA Top Shot maker Dapper Labs, Lightspeed Venture Partners, NGC Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, Liberty City Ventures, Hashed, The Sandbox, Animoca Brands | $60.0 | Metaverse | NFT Platform | New York |
| 2/10/22 | Investment | Kyro Digital | Large blockchain companies, crypto venture funds | $10.0 | Metaverse | SaaS Platform | Grand Rapids |
| 2/10/22 | Investment | ||||||
| 2/11/22 | Investment | Portals | Greylock, Multicoin Capital, Solana Ventures, Foundation Capital, Alameda Research, Sino Global Capital, others | $5.0 | Metaverse | Platform | |
| 2/11/22 | Investment | Salad Ventures | Alameda Research, C2 Ventures, Crossbeam Venture Partners, Foundation Capital, Gemini Frontier Fund, Winklevoss Capital, Polygon Studios, others | $13.5 | Metaverse | Operating System | |
| Source: M2 Insights | |||||||
Amazon Profits Double While Q4 Operating Income Plunges
Bandai Namco revenues up 15.5% to $5.4bn
Intel’s MCM Design Patent Could Be A Sneak Peek At Future Arc Gaming GPUs
Koei Tecmo profit grows 40% to $235m in nine-month financials
Krafton reports that revenue was up 13% to $1.57bn for 2021
Nexon operating income down 18% to $793m in 2021
Nvidia Deal to Buy Arm From SoftBank Is Off After Setbacks
Rovio reports record Q4 revenues of $323.3 million
Take-Two bookings grow 6% to $866.1M in holiday quarter
Sega raises forecasts after strong game sales in holiday quarter
Snap Notches First Quarterly Profits on $1.3 Billion Revenue
