The company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, Yuga Labs, has raised a $450 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen Horowitz immediately modified its Twitter avatar to that of a Bored Ape following the announcement of the fresh financing on March 22.
Historic two weeks
Yuga Labs has had a historic two weeks, which came to a close with the official announcement of the investment.
In February, it was initially reported that the funding transaction was underway and placed a $4 billion valuation on the firm.
On March 11, Yuga Labs announced its acquisition of the intellectual property of its competitor NFT project CryptoPunks, and ApeCoin (APE) token, which is tied to the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club. According to CoinMarketCap, ApeCoin presently has a market value of $12 billion.
Otherside expansion
Yuga Labs intends to use the additional money to expand its “Otherside,” an NFT-based ApeCoin-powered gaming metaverse.
Otherside, the BAYC developers’ own metaverse project, is intended to connect their massive multiplayer role-playing game to the larger NFT universe. According to The Verge, BAYC co-founder Wylie Aronow stated that their objective is to build an “interoperable universe” that is “gamified” and totally decentralized.
Not BAYC NFT-holder exclusive
Otherside is apparently being developed in collaboration with a variety of gaming firms, but in an unusual move for the elite club, it will not be limited to BAYC NFT holders. Additionally, the firm intends to build tools for incorporating NFTs outside of its project.
Days before the fundraising announcement, the Yuga Labs shared a promo video for the Otherside on Twitter.
Animoca Brands, a Metaverse investor that made its play-to-earn Benji Bananas game ApeCoin-compatible on March 17, was also a part of the funding round.