Immutable, an Australian based NFT trading platform, just announced it was able to raise $200 million in a Series C funding round led primarily by Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek and with participation from Animoca Brands and Tencent.
Additional investment was gotten from ParaFi Capital, Princeville Capital and Arrington Capital as well as from existing backers such as King River Capital, Prosus Ventures, AirTree Ventures, Declaration Partners and others. This has put the NFT platform’s valuation to currently stand at $2.5 billion.
The company intends to use the funds raised for developing its Immutable X layer-2 scaling solution for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum network and scaling Immutable Gaming Studio, which includes its flagship Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians video games.
What they are saying about the funding
Immutable X uses StarkWare’s StarkEx zero-knowledge proof technology to achieve scalability on Ethereum while providing game developers with zero gas fees and a carbon-neutral environment.
Robbie Ferguson, Immutable’s co-founder and president, tweeted that the future of gaming is dependent on NFT economies and that Immutable wants to pioneer NFT adoption. He stated, “NFTs are eating the world. Gaming will be the trojan horse that means your family can trade and own digital property, without them even knowing. Winning protocols will become the physics of our digital futures.”
He further went on to explain that NFTs have opened up the largest addressable market in the history of the world and that his company is building its backend so businesses can build liquid, scalable, and truly secure NFT economies, all without compromise.
On what the funds will be used for, the press release stated, “With a team of 165 people, Immutable is one of Australia’s fastest growing unicorns, and plans to hire an additional 200 new employees globally over the next 12 months predominantly in sales, marketing, engineering and product.
“Immutable will also use the funds to scale to meet the increasing demand for its platform and expand into new verticals, support gaming partners, acquire new customers, and explore M&A opportunities. Current companies building on Immutable X include GameStop, TikTok, Opensea, Ember Sword, Illuvium, GreenPark Sports, and Gary Vee (Vee Friends).”
As part of Immutable’s plans for “rapid global expansion,” the company has gone ahead to onboard four new executives: Justin Hulog, former Riot Games general manager, as chief studio officer; Gill Findlay, AirTree ventures partner, as chief operating officer; John Boris, former CEO of IfOnly, as chief growth officer; and Katherine Rau as chief people officer.
Earlier this month, GameStop announced a strategic partnership with Immutable to launch its new NFT marketplace on the Immutable X platform. The partnership includes a $100 million co-fund between the firms, targeting the advancement of high-impact NFT gaming projects.
In less than a year, the company’s valuation has grown by 509.76% from $410 million. Immutable is one of several blockchain and crypto-focused companies to have achieved “unicorn” status over the past year.
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