Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming extensive Animoca Brands announced a $50 million investment on Monday thru a new partnership with the NEOM Funding Fund that can specialise in Web3 initiatives.

NEOM is the investment arm of a spot of abode in northwest Saudi Arabia that’s being constructed as a “living laboratory” for know-how and innovation.

Animoca Brands reached a $6 billion valuation in July 2022. Nonetheless, the increased market turbulence following the collapse of FTX that November led to Animoca cutting the goal for its new metaverse fund from $2 billion to $1 billion, after which reportedly correct down to $800 million.

Below the partnership, Animoca and NEOM will collaborate on constructing Web3 enterprise provider capabilities that can pork up the technological dispositions in Riyadh and the NEOM place of abode. The duo will build a hub in NEOM to nurture local Web3 projects.

“We are honored and angry to partner with and receive investment from NEOM, one of the enviornment’s most ambitious projects looking out for to make instruct of innovation and know-how to redefine how we dwell, work, and play,” stated Yat Siu, co-founder and govt chairman of Animoca Brands, in the announcement publish. “We maintain continually referred to the enhance of the Web3 ecosystem because the emergence of a new meta-nation, and now NEOM would possibly effectively become the first place of abode to completely harness the energy of blockchain.”

The brand new NEOM investment will doubtless be split evenly between the issuance of Animoca convertible notes and the beget of Animoca shares on the secondary market.