Animoca Brands
also invests Β· investor profileUnicorn Β· $6BFounded 2014 Β· 317 employees on LinkedIn Β· 48 known investors
Animoca Brands invests in blockchain and digital asset projects across gaming, infrastructure, culture, and real-world asset categories, with a portfolio of 600+ companies and a focus on Web3 ecosystem development.
Also known as Animoca Brands Corporation Limited Β· Animoca Brands Corporation Ltd.
Founders & leadership
Animoca Brands was founded in 2014 by Yat Siu.
Investors Β· 48
Also in the syndicate Β· 4
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountseed funding roundJun 2026
YZi Labs (lead), Aptos Foundation, Informed Ventures
Source β - Undisclosed amountseed roundFeb 2024Source β
Source: company announcements and press reports β follow each round's link for the claim.
Valuation Β· disclosed
Disclosed eventsSource: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed β follow each entry's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Animoca Brands Corporation Limited (ACN 122 921 813) is a Hong Kong-headquartered digital assets company that combines operating businesses, digital asset services, and venture investing. It was founded in January 2014 by Yat Siu, initially as a mobile games developer, and describes itself today as an ecosystem architect spanning real-world assets (RWA), infrastructure, AI, DeFi, and gaming. The company frames its model as a "build, invest, accelerate" flywheel in which its own projects, advisory services, and investment portfolio reinforce one another.
On the build side, Animoca Brands develops consumer and infrastructure platforms including Moca Network, Open Campus, Anichess, and The Sandbox, and forms joint ventures such as Anchorpoint Financial, which participated in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority stablecoin issuer sandbox, and NUVA for institutional users. Its digital asset services provide token strategy, research, go-to-market support, and liquidity provisioning for decentralized networks. Its investment arm holds a portfolio of more than 600 companies and digital assets across 20+ verticals, with disclosed holdings including Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs, Yuga Labs, Colossal Biosciences, MoviePass, and CryptoKitties.
Major subsidiaries listed by the company include The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, nWay, Pixowl, Animoca Brands Japan, Eden Games, Notre Games, SPORTPASS, and TinyTap. The company reports approximately 600 employees across its subsidiaries as of 30 September 2025 and cites recognition including Fortune Crypto 40, Top 50 Blockchain Game Companies 2025, Financial Times High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific, and Deloitte Tech Fast.
Founding story
The company was founded in Hong Kong in January 2014 by Yat Siu, with Wikipedia also naming David Kim as a co-founder. It originated as one of the companies incubated by Outblaze, the multilingual white-label web services business Yat Siu established in 1998 and pivoted into an incubator after selling its messaging unit to IBM in 2009. Animoca Brands was spun out from mobile games developer Animoca and began with a focus on mobile games, before identifying blockchain in 2017-2018 as the mechanism to deliver digital property rights.
Business model
Animoca Brands operates three linked lines of business: building its own consumer and institutional platforms and joint ventures; providing digital asset services such as token strategy, research, go-to-market, and liquidity provisioning to Web3 companies; and investing in and holding equity and token positions in more than 600 companies and digital assets. Operating revenue historically came from game development and publishing through subsidiaries such as The Sandbox, Eden Games, nWay, Blowfish Studios, and TinyTap, including licensed titles based on third-party IP.
Sources report revenue of US$923 million for 2022 but do not break down revenue lines. Identified revenue-generating activities include mobile and blockchain game sales (e.g., US$2.8 million from Crazy Kings and Crazy Defense Heroes in Q1 2018), digital asset services provided to Web3 companies, and returns on its investment portfolio.
Traction
Publicly stated indicators include 600+ portfolio companies and digital assets across 20+ verticals, approximately 600 employees across subsidiaries as of 30 September 2025, and 2022 revenue of US$923 million. Company materials cite an addressable education market of US$6 trillion for Open Campus and 700 million addressable users for digital identity via Mocaverse.
Latest developments
In May 2025 the company announced plans to list in New York, followed in November 2025 by an announced Nasdaq listing through a reverse merger with Currenc Group Inc., expected to close in 2026, after which Animoca shareholders would hold about 95% of the combined entity's issued shares. In November 2025 it launched a crypto donation fundraiser for the Hong Kong Red Cross following the Wang Fuk Court fire. In December 2025 it announced a strategic partnership with GROW Investment Group targeting family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and in January 2026 it announced the acquisition of digital collectibles company SOMO on undisclosed terms. In February 2026 it received a Virtual Asset Service Provider licence from Dubai's digital asset regulator.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Animoca Brands presents itself as a leading digital assets group, citing inclusion in the Fortune Crypto 40, Top 50 Blockchain Game Companies 2025, Financial Times High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific, and Deloitte Tech Fast. Reported private valuations rose from US$1 billion in 2021 to US$2.2 billion in October 2021 and approximately US$5.9-6 billion in mid-2022. Its 600+ company portfolio spans 20+ verticals including AI, BTC, culture, DeFi, DePIN, gaming, infrastructure, RWA, and social.
The company positions its combination of operating projects, digital asset advisory services, and a large investment portfolio as a self-reinforcing flywheel, arguing that network effects across 600+ portfolio companies compound value. It emphasizes digital property rights and turning users into stakeholders, and maintains strategic positions across the digital stack from RWA and infrastructure to AI, DeFi, and gaming.
Technology
The company builds blockchain-based platforms and infrastructure, including The Sandbox virtual world with its SAND cryptocurrency, the Moca Network digital identity and reputation layer (originating from Mocaverse), Open Campus for education, Anichess, and the NUVA and Anchorpoint Financial institutional products. It has extended into artificial intelligence with Minds by Animoca Brands, described as a persistent AI agent platform, and works on tokenization of real-world assets.
Go-to-market
Growth is pursued through building and incubating in-house projects, acquiring game studios and platforms, forming joint ventures and partnerships (including with Binance on a blockchain game investment program and with GROW Investment Group for investment products), licensing well-known entertainment and sports IP for games, and deploying capital into an extensive portfolio of Web3 startups and tokens.
Animoca Brands addresses two stated segments: institutions, served by products such as Anchorpoint Financial and NUVA and by institutional-grade token strategy and liquidity services; and consumers, served by Moca Network, Open Campus, The Sandbox, and Anichess. Its services business targets Web3 companies launching and scaling decentralized networks, and a December 2025 partnership targets family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Geography
Headquartered in Hong Kong, with offices listed at 28/F Landmark South, 39 Yip Kan Street, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong, and at 211 McIlwraith Street, Princes Hill, VIC 3054, Australia. Wikipedia places earlier headquarters at Cyberport, Telegraph Bay, Hong Kong. Subsidiaries include Animoca Brands Japan and France-based Eden Games (Lyon), and the company received a Virtual Asset Service Provider licence in Dubai in February 2026.
History
Animoca Brands was created in 2014 as a company incubated out of Outblaze, the Hong Kong web services firm founded by Yat Siu, and was spun out from mobile games developer Animoca; the new entity listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in January 2015. Its early business was mobile games, including the Crazy Kings and Crazy Defense Heroes tower defense titles, which generated US$2.8 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2018. From 2017-2018 the company pivoted toward blockchain gaming and NFTs, and it acquired or launched a series of studios and platforms, including TicBits (2016), Pixowl (2018), Quidd (2019), nWay (2019), Eden Games (2022), and WePlay Media (2022). It launched fitness metaverse company OliveX in March 2018, which spun off in August 2020. Animoca Brands delisted from the ASX on 9 March 2020 and raised successive private rounds through 2021-2022 at rising valuations. Company-published milestones cite the 2022 launch of Open Campus in education, the 2023 advancement of digital identity through Mocaverse, and a 2025 joint venture aimed at licensed stablecoin issuance. In May 2025 it announced plans to list in New York, and in November 2025 announced a planned Nasdaq listing via reverse merger with Currenc Group Inc.
Risks & controversies
On 21 June 2022, Animoca Brands Corporation Limited was convicted on charges of failing to lodge annual and half-yearly financial reports with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The company delisted from the ASX on 9 March 2020. In March 2022 it shut down the F1 Delta Time game after in-game sales flat-lined for two years, rendering the game's NFTs non-functional and prompting a plan to replace them with tokens for REVV Racing; the Formula One licence is listed as a former licence.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Founder mafia
2 people who came through Animoca Brands went on to found or lead other companies.
Competitors Β· 3
by search overlapCompanies competing with Animoca Brands for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Acquisitions Β· 1
Early investors' stakes continue via these dealsA library of educational games handmade by educators worldwide; acquired by Animoca Brands.
Timeline Β· 26
launches, deals, and filingsReceived a VASP licence from Dubai's digital asset regulator, permitting broker-dealer services as well as digital asset management and investment services.
Announced the acquisition of digital collectibles company SOMO; financial terms were not disclosed.
Announced a strategic partnership with GROW Investment Group to offer crypto and traditional finance investment products to family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Began a fundraiser on behalf of the Hong Kong Red Cross for victims of the Wang Fuk Court fire, setting up two dedicated crypto wallets for donations.
Announced plans to go public on Nasdaq through a reverse merger with Currenc Group Inc., expected to close in 2026, after which Animoca shareholders would own about 95% of the new entity's issued shares; investors named include Kingsway Capital, 50T Funds, and SoftBank.
Established a joint venture aimed at building a business focused on the issuance and advancement of licensed stablecoins; Anchorpoint Financial participated in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority stablecoin issuer sandbox.
Advanced digital identity and social reputation through Mocaverse.
Animoca Brands Corporation Limited was convicted on charges of failing to lodge annual and half-yearly financial reports with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Announced that the F1 Delta Time game would close the next day after sales flat-lined; non-functional NFTs were to be replaced with tokens for REVV Racing.
Binance and Animoca Brands launched a $200 million investment program to fund blockchain games.
$200M source β
SoftBank led a $93 million investment in Animoca Brands' subsidiary The Sandbox.
$93M source β
Led a $1.5 million funding round for blockchain game developer Sky Mavis.
$1.5M source β
Raised $2.5 million to fund development of a blockchain version of The Sandbox, where players build and monetize content using the SAND token.
$2.5M source β
Raised $2.01 million in cash and cryptocurrency for The Sandbox from investors including Square Enix.
$2M source β
Launched OliveX, a fitness metaverse company building mobile games to gamify fitness; it spun off from Animoca Brands in August 2020.
Acquired TicBits, developer of tower defense games Crazy Kings and Crazy Defense Heroes, for AUD 5.4 million.
Animoca Brands, spun out from Animoca in 2014, listed on the ASX; it remained listed until 9 March 2020.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- Animoca Brandsanimocabrands.com Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Animoca Brands do?
- Hong Kong-based digital assets group that builds Web3 platforms, provides token services, and holds 600+ portfolio investments.
- Who founded Animoca Brands?
- Animoca Brands was founded by Yat Siu in 2014.
- Who are Animoca Brands's investors?
- Animoca Brands's investors include 2080 Ventures, 500 Global, A'Z Angels, Adit Ventures Management, Llc, Alpha Wave Global, AppWorks Ventures, Arcane Group, Backstage AB and 36 more.