Fundraising Fox
MetaPals
Techstars '22Singapore, SG · Founded 2022 · 7 employees on LinkedIn · 4 known investors
Find your way into MetaPals
Sign up to find every way you can get introduced to MetaPals
- Your email: who you already know at MetaPals, and who your contacts know
- 2nd- and 3rd-degree connections: people you know who worked, studied or invested with the MetaPals team
- Your LinkedIn: the connections who can make the intro for you
We rank every route by how warm it is, so you raise on warm intros instead of cold emails.
Singapore-based maker of a browser extension whose AI-driven, blockchain-backed virtual pets live on the user's screen.
Also known as Metapals · MetaPals Pte. Ltd.
Investors · 4
How we know: BlueYard Capital's portfolio page · funding news · research · trysignalbase.com · Not right? Tell us
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
How we know: funding news · Not right? Tell us
How we know: funding news · research · trysignalbase.com · Not right? Tell us
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountSeed RoundSep 2024Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Sep 2026MetaPals develops a Chrome browser extension that places virtual pets on the user's screen. The pets eat, sleep and play, and require ongoing care from the user, with the stated aim of creating a sense of digital companionship and responsibility. The extension must be installed to play, and users adopt their first pet after installation.
The product combines AI-driven companion behaviour with blockchain elements: companions are described as unique NFTs that persist across a user's devices and that evolve and adapt to individual preferences and habits. Licensed characters from intellectual property partners, including Sanrio and Sky Mavis properties, have been offered as selectable companions. The company has stated an intention to guide users through blockchain and cryptocurrency concepts through the companion experience and to extend the product into virtual reality.
The company is registered as MetaPals Pte. Ltd. and is headquartered in Singapore. Founders listed include Max Giammario, Daryl Lim and Tony Song. Classifications applied to the company across sources include blockchain, cryptocurrency, gaming, online games and artificial intelligence.
Founding story
MetaPals was founded in 2022 with a stated mission of creating meaningful digital companionship, and joined the Techstars: Filecoin accelerator program that year.
Business model
MetaPals distributes a consumer browser extension through which users adopt and care for digital pets. Sources classify the company under consumer-facing AI and blockchain products, with digital pets as the main product and recurring/SaaS-style revenue categorisation; licensed characters from intellectual property partners and NFT-based companions are described as part of the offering.
Sources categorise the company's revenue as recurring/SaaS with consumers as the customer base; the specific pricing of the browser extension and of NFT companions is not detailed.
Traction
As of September 2024 the company reported more than 35,000 users and a 45% seven-day retention rate, describing growth as organic. Employee counts reported were 23 in February 2024 and 20 in a 2026 profile update.
Latest developments
In September 2024 the company announced a $3,000,000 seed round led by deep tech investors BlueYard Capital, Protocol Labs and Acequia Capital, to be used to further develop its AI-driven in-browser companions and expand its digital companionship product line. At the time it reported more than 35,000 users and 45% seven-day retention.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
MetaPals operates in the virtual pet and digital companionship niche at the intersection of AI, gaming and Web3. Directory listings place it among Singapore blockchain and digital currency startups, and name Neopets Metaverse, The Animal Age, Cat Paradise and Pndoras BOX as comparable companies.
MetaPals positions its product around emotional engagement rather than purely game mechanics, pairing persistent on-screen AI companions with blockchain-based ownership so that a pet is a unique asset that travels across a user's devices and adapts to their habits. Licensed characters from established IP holders and academic research into human-AI emotional bonds are cited as further distinguishing elements.
Technology
The product is delivered as a Chrome browser extension combining AI-driven companion behaviour with blockchain technology used to represent companions as NFTs that persist and evolve across devices. The company has worked with Nanyang Technological University to integrate AI research into its products and cites support from Tezos Foundation and Google AI.
Go-to-market
Distribution is direct to consumers via a free Chrome browser extension that users download and install to adopt a pet. Growth has been described as organic, supplemented by collaborations with consumer intellectual property holders whose characters are available as companions.
Consumers, in particular desktop web users interested in virtual pets, and, through its blockchain features, users being introduced to cryptocurrency and Web3 concepts.
Geography
Headquartered in Singapore. Sources describe the product's geographic exposure as global, delivered through a browser extension.
History
The company was founded in 2022 and participated in the Techstars: Filecoin accelerator the same year. Funding activity recorded in 2022 culminated in an April 2022 round of $575,000, bringing cumulative funding to $807,000 as of that date. A 2024 announcement described a $3,000,000 seed round backed by BlueYard Capital, Protocol Labs and Acequia Capital, stated user traction of more than 35,000 users, and outlined IP and research partnerships. Headcount was reported at 23 in February 2024 and 20 as of a September 2026 profile update.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — 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 — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsMetaPals described collaborations with IP partners including Sanrio and SkyMavis for licensed characters used as in-browser companions.
The company reported research conducted with Nanyang Technological University into emotional bonds between humans and AI, alongside support from Tezos Foundation, Google AI and Techstars.
MetaPals took part in the Techstars: Filecoin accelerator program in 2022.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- MetaPals | Goldengolden.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does MetaPals do?
- Singapore-based maker of a browser extension whose AI-driven, blockchain-backed virtual pets live on the user's screen.
- Who are MetaPals's investors?
- MetaPals's investors include BlueYard Capital, Techstars, Acequia Capital (AceCap), Protocol Labs.
- Where is MetaPals headquartered?
- MetaPals is headquartered in Singapore, SG.