Banking behemoth MUFG invests in Animoca Brands Japan’s $45 million raise

Animoca Brands Japan, a subsidiary of web3 investment firm Animoca Brands, has raised $45 million from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) and Animoca Brands.

This brings the subsidiary’s pre-money valuation to $500 million with the investment being split equally between the two investing firms, according to a press release on Friday. 

Animoca Brands is a Hong Kong-based web3 investing behemoth with a portfolio of more than 340 investments including The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Open Sea and Dapper Labs, per the release.

In July, Animoca Brands raised $75 million at a pre-money valuation of $5.9 billion. 

The Japanese subsidiary formed in 2021 to support the adoption of web3 among Japanese intellectual property (IP) and content holders, according to the release. 

In February, Animoca Brands Japan completed a $10 million seed round from MCP IPX One Fund and Animoca Brands. Then in March, the subsidiary company announced it was considering a collaboration with MUFG for non fungible-token (NFT) related business opportunities. 

MUFG is a leading financial firm headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It currently has 170,000 employees and operates in more than 50 countries, per the release. MUFG’s stock trades on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York stock exchanges. The firm manages $3.1 trillion in assets.

The new funds will be used to secure licenses for intellectual property, promote adoption of web3 and develop internal capabilities, according to the release. 

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