Share this article

UnCaged Studios Raises $24M to Support Web3 Game Developers

The company will use the funds to build out its Solana-based esports franchise MonkeyLeague ahead of its public launch.

Updated May 11, 2023, 4:17 p.m. Published Jul 14, 2022, 2:34 p.m.
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Web3 gaming company UnCaged Studios has raised $24 million in a Series A equity funding round, with participation from Griffin Gaming Partners, Vgames, Maverick Ventures Israel, Drive by DraftKings and 6th Man Ventures, according to a press release Thursday.

The company is now valued at over $150 million, according to an UnCaged spokesperson.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

UnCaged will use the funding to develop its Solana-based esports franchise MonkeyLeague ahead of its public launch at the end of the year. Prior to the current funding round, MonkeyLeague had a $4 million token presale.

The money will also be used for future projects on its native Game OS platform. Game OS supports those entering blockchain gaming through its end-to-end developer platform. From tokenomics to non-fungible token (NFT) integration, it is intended to help gaming companies make the switch from Web2 to Web3.

UnCaged isn’t alone in its efforts to support blockchain game developers. Last week, Web3 gaming network Planetarium Labs raised $32 million in a Series A round led by Animoca Brands. And in March, gaming development platform Joyride raised $14 million in seed funding.

UnCaged was founded in 2021 by Raz and Tal Friedman, brothers who previously worked at Israeli gaming company Playtika.

More For You

Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture

Pudgy Title Image

Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.

What to know:

Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.

The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.

More For You

Mesh becomes unicorn, raises $75 million for crypto payments infrastructure

Mesh fence (Pexels/Pixabay, modified by CoinDesk)

The investment round was led by Dragonfly Capital and included participation from Paradigm, Moderne Ventures, Coinbase Ventures and SBI Investment.

What to know:

  • Cryptocurrency payments network Mesh acquired unicorn status with a $75 million Series C funding round that valued the company at $1 billion.
  • The fund raise, coupled with the ceremonial significance of Mesh acquiring unicorn status, may demonstrate confidence in crypto infrastructure projects despite a relatively depressed market.
  • Mesh said part of the $75 million raise was settled using stablecoins to demonstrate that is infrastructure is "ready for high stakes, real-world use."