- Yuga Labs raises $450M from a seed round led by a16z; backed by prominent individuals and brands.
- As a result, Yuga Labs is currently valued at $4B.
- The company has been on a roll for the past two weeks, and on March 19 announced a teaser for their new metaverse.
Yuga Labs has just raised $450 million from a seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The funding round was first reported to be in the works as early as February. As a result, Yuga Labs is currently valued at $4 billion.
Moreover, Yuga Labs released a list of 36 individuals and brands who invested in the company’s seed round. The investors, other than a16z, include the likes of Animoca Brands, FTX Ventures, MoonPay, LionTree, SANDBOX, Samsung, Time Ventures, Adidas Ventures, and Google Ventures. Meanwhile, individual investors include the likes of Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Steve Aoki, Shaq/Forest Road, VaynerFund, and Colin Kaepernick.
“This capital will give Yuga speed to market on many things underway, and bring in new partners with strategic thinking that share the vision,” said Yuga Labs partner Guy Oseary.
A16z, who led the Yuga Labs funding round, has been investing heavily in web3. Previously, it funded OpenSea, Coinbase, and Dapper Labs. Furthermore, a16z General Partner Chris Lyons announced on Twitter that he was joining the board of Yuga Labs.
I am beyond excited to announce that @a16z crypto is leading the financing of @yugalabs and I’m joining the board. We look forward to helping the team continue to usher the next wave of creators and builders into web3 to define the future of culture and innovation. LFG!
🦍🦍🦍 pic.twitter.com/KtwnaPGdxw— chrislyons (@ChrisLyons) March 22, 2022
Additionally, after the funding round was announced on March 23, a16z changed its Twitter avatar to its own Bored Ape.
Yuga Labs has had a monumental two weeks in the month of March. On March 11, Yuga Labs acquired CryptoPunks and Meebits; while on March 16, The BAYC ApeCoin (APE) token was launched. Additionally, on March 19, Yuga Labs released a trailer for its new metaverse project called ‘Otherside’.
Yuga Labs CEO Nicole Muniz, on the topic of Otherside, said that there is a lot to come for the metaverse project.
Already, a new economy is possible with the IP of Apes, Punks, and Meebits, owned by the community (…) The possibilities for blockchain’s impact on culture are endless, and so we are building a beautiful, interoperable world for people to explore and play in. There’s a lot to come.
On the other hand, Yuga Labs Co-Founder Greg Solano shared his criticisms about how other companies handle metaverse ideas. Solano stated that people don’t bond in empty virtual spaces, but rather in positions where they have to collaborate.
You only play with people and make friends because you’re getting your ass kicked,” Solano stated. “Basically, we don’t think deep social experience comes from essentially a Zoom chat and walking around saying ‘hi.
Yuga Labs has not provided a timeline on the release of Otherside. However, its Twitter trailer implies an April release.
English 