The Japanese division of blockchain gaming operator Animoca Brands has raised $45 million from the parent company and one of the country’s oldest banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.

We are happy to announce that @AnimocabrandskkOur Japanese subsidiary announced a raise of US$45 million today. @mufgbk_official and Animoca Brands Corporation Limited valuation of the company at approximately US$500 million (pre-money).

Keep reading: https://t.co/K90CUhPDyK pic.twitter.com/AXIlxgbqA6

— Animoca Brands (@animocabrands) 26 August 2022

The preliminary valuation of Animoca Brands Japan was $500 million. According to the announcement, the fund was split equally between the two investors.

Funds raised are used to license “popular intellectual property objects”, develop internal capabilities, and promote Web3.

The Hong Kong-based firm is a publisher of digital products based on intellectual property, as well as a number of games such as The Sandbox, Crazy Kings and Crazy Defense Heroes. Animoca Brands has several subsidiaries including Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Forj, Lympo, Grease Monkey Games, Darewise, Notre Game, and TinyTap.

The company actively invests in Web3 projects. Its portfolio includes more than 340 positions, including Colossal, Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, Star Atlas and others.

In early 2022, Animoca Brands raised $358.9 million at a $5 billion valuation, followed by $75.32 million in July.

In the spring, the operator acquired the game developer Eden Games. The deal amounted to $16 million.

Recall that Messari and Dove Metrics analysts estimated the amount of funding for blockchain startups in January-June 2022 at $30.3 billion. Of this amount, $6.7 billion came from NFT projects.

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