Participated · Equity · Jun 2024

Pixelverse develops entertainment content and a game ecosystem focused on bringing mainstream users into Web3 through low-barrier games. The company’s product strategy centers on granting players true ownership of in-game assets and rewarding loyalty. It aims to create immersive experiences designed for large-scale adoption and appeal to traditional Web2 gamers. Pixelverse completed a new financing round that raised $5.5 million. That round was described as a strategic investment led by notable venture funds and founders from the games and Web3 sectors. Investors named in the round include Delphi Ventures, Merit Circle, Mechanism Capital, Bitscale Capital, Ghaf Capital, Big Brain Holdings, LiquidX, Foresight Ventures, Sébastien Borget, Luca Netz, Dingaling, DCF GOD, Grail and James Kwon.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2024

Carv is a US-based decentralized identity authentication service provider focused on gamers. Its core product aggregates player data from both Web2 and Web3 into a single unified user ID. The company offers white-label data services to game operators, enabling operators to query new users' cross-platform data. Carv announced on X that it completed a new strategic funding round. Japanese Web3 game company double jump.tokyo Inc participated in the round; the amount and valuation were not disclosed. The article includes no operating metrics or additional financial details. Carv provides a modular data layer and toolset that enables users to control, authenticate and monetize their data for web3 gaming and AI use cases. Its core offerings include CARV Protocol (a cross-chain data layer and web2-to-web3 identity bridge), CARV Play (a cross-platform credentialing and game distribution system) and CARA, a personalized AI gaming assistant integrated with web3 wallets. The company promotes user-owned data and revenue-sharing, and has created a unified user ID standard (ERC-7231) to enable data portability. Carv has been profitable since December 2023 and reports more than $1 million in monthly recurring revenue, with significant month-over-month growth. It has 2.5 million registered users and over 350 integrated gaming and AI company partners. With new funding, Carv plans to scale its CARV Portal design and launch CARV Link for on-chain identity/authentication and CARV Database to manage varied user data types. CARV builds an intent-centric, composable SSI oracle and incentivized data-sharing protocol alongside an AI-powered gaming superapp called CARV Play. The protocol launched in Q3 2023 and combines confidential computation, decentralized incentive layers, an ID NFT (ERC7231) standard and an account-abstraction wallet to lower adoption barriers. CARV positions users to capture value via passive income from historical data and active income from brand interactions, and it enables brands to access first- and zero-party data using TEE and zero-knowledge proofs. The company reports more than 1.2M users and 600+ gaming studios interacting with the protocol through its application layer. CARV is expanding the protocol into a decentralized, general-purpose, multi-application ecosystem and is accelerating growth of its gaming application globally. The company held an ID NFT minting event and early onboarding in December 2023 to onboard initial users and partners. Carv provides an engine that aggregates gamer data from web2 and web3 and ties that information to unique user IDs, with a white-label data service for game operators to query cross-platform user data such as reputation and achievements. The DID is compatible with more than 20 Layer 1 networks, including Ethereum and Solana, which the company says will allow it to cover roughly 95% of blockchain games. Six months after launching its beta, Carv has partnered with over 90 games and exceeded 300,000 registered users, about 160,000 of whom are active monthly and spend an average of nine minutes per session. Carv is already generating revenue from its white-label data service and by taking a cut of NFT sales launched by games on its platform. The company plans to expand beyond games into other user scenarios over time and to enable customized user experiences such as tipping, which it would fee as a microtransaction. Its focus on lowering onboarding friction for web2 users aims to make DID more user-friendly than wallet-based flows like MetaMask.

Participated · Seed · Apr 2024

Uncharted is a crypto gaming layer that provides a platform for game creators and studios. The company operates a game studio and a product center that supports game creators. Uncharted announced it completed a $1.7 million seed round. The financing was led by Shima Capital and included participation from The Spartan Group, Double Peak Group, Devmons, 32-Bit Ventures, and LiquidX. The funding was reported by DoNews on April 23, 2024.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2024

Avalon is developing an eponymous multiplayer online game designed to let players create, share, play, and take ownership of experiences, with assets and progression that move between user-generated worlds. The studio emphasizes interoperability and aims to appeal to both web2 and web3 gamers. Avalon has partnered with AI companies Didimo and Inworld AI to enable characters that interact with players in real time. The company is led by founder and CEO Sean Pinnock and is based in Orlando, FL. Avalon is currently under development for PC and cloud streaming. The studio raised $10M in funding to support development of its debut title. Avalon, led by CEO Sean Pinnock, develops a platform and tools that enable creators and designers to build interoperable games and virtual experiences. The company came out of stealth after raising $13M in funding. The round was led by BITKRAFT Ventures, HASHED, Delphi Digital and Mechanism Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Yield Guild Games, Merit Circle, Avocado Guild and Morning Star Ventures. The raise also included individual backers such as Kevin Lin, Charlie Songhurst, Dennis Fong and Robin Jung. Avalon intends to use the funds to expand operations.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2024

Cathedral Studios is a Colchester, UK-based indie game studio led by CEO Toby Saunders. The studio develops The Bornless, a title set in the enigmatic town of Farmouth where demonic entities and human realms collide. The Bornless recently introduced a new mode called 'The Ritual,' which blends extraction, horror survival, and strategy within a lore-rich setting. Cathedral closed a $6.66m seed funding round to support its plans. The company intends to use the funds for substantial enhancements to its talent roster.