Animoca Brands, the parent company of The Sandbox gaming metaverse, has doubled down on its investments in the metaverse space after acquiring a majority stake in Pixelynx, a music metaverse gaming platform.
The investment follows recent reports that Animoca is launching a $2 billion metaverse fund for developers.
It also follows Animoca’s previous investment in Pixelynx exactly a year ago when it led the latter company’s $4.5 million seed investment round that was participated in by Solana Ventures, Alumni Ventures Blockchain Fund, Hyperedge Capital, Republic Realm, and Sfermion.
The acquisition comes nearly a year after Animoca struck a deal with Warner Music Group to create “the first music-themed world” within The Sandbox gaming metaverse.
The Sandbox has also previously partnered with Universal Music Group’s brand management division, Bravado, for a virtual music experience in the metaverse featuring seminal jazz-funk band Jamiroquai.
Most recently, Animoca on Tuesday (December 6) said it has picked up a majority stake in music metaverse gaming firm Pixelynx “to build, invest in, and acquire studios, infrastructure, and technologies that will power the future of the music industry through integration with gaming and Web3 technologies and communities”.
The company did not disclose the size of the said investment.
Founded by musicians deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman) and Richie Hawtin (Plastikman) along with music and gaming industry veterans Ben Turner, Dean Wilson, and Inder Phull, Pixelynx offers a physical and digital ecosystem for artists and fans by integrating the worlds of music, gaming and Web3.
The metaverse company is set to debut its mobile gaming platform, Elynxir, offering fans exclusive music content, in-game collectibles, and playable immersive experiences.
The game is powered by Niantic Lightship AR technology, which allows Elynxir to leverage advanced augmented reality and geolocation for players to discover games, music, artists, collectibles, and community-made content.
Niantic’s Lightship SDK is behind Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom & Ingress.
Following the latest investment, Elynxir will be integrated into Animoca’s ecosystem.
Additionally, Los Angeles-based Pixelynx also operates an investment program called LynxLabs that develops the next wave of music and entertainment ventures by providing access to funding, artists, celebrities, token design, and technical support.
The program has so far made investments in Volta XR and Oorbit.
“Pixelynx is one of the new wave of companies that are paving novel pathways for the music industry amid a major technological shift from centralized to decentralized ownership.”
Yat Siu, Animoca Brands
Animoca and Pixelynx aim to take advantage of the growing global music market, with revenue expected to reach $131 billion by 2030. The two companies plan to develop new forms of music consumption that can be expanded across the metaverse to open up new revenue opportunities.
“Pixelynx is one of the new wave of companies that are paving novel pathways for the music industry amid a major technological shift from centralized to decentralized ownership. We are thrilled to welcome PIXELYNX to the growing family of Animoca Brands and we look forward to helping to shape the forefront of the music industry while building new and innovative experiences for people around the world,” says Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands.
“This deal marks the beginning of a new era in the music industry in which Web3, gaming, and transmedia content will unlock new formats, revenue streams, and business models that support artists, fans, and labels.”
Inder Phull, Pixelynx
Animoca’s latest acquisition of a majority stake in Pixelynx follows a string of investments in recent months as the company continues to grow its NFT and metaverse portfolio.
Its most recent investments include its participation in the $1.7 million seed round for SoundMint, which describes itself as a “generative platform for music NFTs”; and the $7.5 million seed round in John Legend’s NFT platform, Our Happy Company.
Animoca led both funding rounds.
“Animoca Brands has established itself as a dominant player in building the shared vision of an open metaverse,” Inder Phull, CEO of Pixelynx, said about the deal.
“This deal marks the beginning of a new era in the music industry in which Web3, gaming, and transmedia content will unlock new formats, revenue streams, and business models that support artists, fans, and labels.”
Music Business Worldwide