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The news: Silicon Valley heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz is putting more money behind Irreverent Labs. The investment firm led a $40 million round for the Seattle startup, which is creating a blockchain-based fighting game that pits chicken-style fighters against each other.
The details: Andreessen led a $5 million seed round just seven months ago. “We’re picking up now because [Andreessen] I see no reason to wait based on our overall traction,” Irreverent Labs CEO Rahul Sood told GeekWire.
The game: MechaFightClub is a “cruelty-free” online fighting game that combines emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and NFT. Players can trade, sell, and use fighters known as “mechabots,” each of which is unique and resides on the Solana blockchain. The game uses a play-to-earn ecosystem with its blockchain currency called nuggets. Players can use nuggets to make in-game purchases or download them for use on the wider Solana blockchain.
“Gamers will soon realize that having ownership over the characters in the game and building a relationship with that character over time is actually a really good thing,” Sud previously said.
Drivers: Sood previously co-founded esports startup Unikrn, which was acquired last year, and led Microsoft’s venture capital division. Co-founder David Raskino helped lead the VC fund with Sood and recently led a new security team at Microsoft.
What next: The game is due to launch later this year. The company already has more than 35,000 registered users. “Our Discord is booming and we’ve spent $0 on marketing. It’s all organic growth,” Sud said. He said revenue is expected in July.
Investors: The 17-person company has added some notable investors, including Solana Ventures, the venture capital arm of Solana Labs; Michael Ovitz, founder of Creative Artists Agency (CAA); Sonam Kapoor, Bollywood star; and Infinity Ventures Crypto. Existing backers also invested, including Mantis VC, Keen Crypto, Unlock Venture Partners and Advancit Capital.
“For all its lighthearted fun, Irreverent Labs is a deep tech company building advanced technology on top of a futuristic cockfighting game,” said Ariana Simpson, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, in a statement.
Andreessen has funded at least 50 crypto startups as part of a huge bet on the emerging sector and is reportedly looking to raise $4.5 billion in new crypto investments.
Last word: Irreverent Labs is among a group of nascent blockchain startups that raised a record $25.2 billion last year, up 713% year over year, according to CBInsights. There are also several fast-growing blockchain game startups such as Axie Infinity. Irreverent Labs will have to convince traditional gamers that layering technologies like NFTs will improve the gaming experience — and create business at the same time. Now he has a lot of money to give it away.
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