Brinc, a Hong Kong-based global venture accelerator, announced Wednesday the closing of its $30 million Series B fundraise and a further $100 million for startup investments, led by Hong Kong unicorn Animoca Brands, a prolific investor in non-fungible token (NFT)-centric and Web 3.0 companies.
The new capital will fuel Brinc’s global platform expansion across new locations and verticals – allowing more investors and corporate partners to leverage funds, accelerators and bespoke-deal sourcing to access high-quality investment opportunities and emerging technologies in food, health, energy, climate and deep tech, Brinc said in a statement.
In addition, the capital will enable Brinc’s expansion into Web 3.0 including the launch of new blockchain-focused accelerator programs across culture, music, art, collectibles, gaming, decentralized finance and data.
Startups and corporates will also be supported in developing blockchain ventures to integrate sustainability, inclusion and equitability into their business models, it said.
According to the statement, this investment represents a strengthening of the growing relationship between Brinc and Animoca Brands, who jointly unveiled the blockchain and NFT accelerator Launchpad Luna earlier this year.
It said its first cohort is in the process of closing investments into 30 game-changing Web 3.0 companies, supporting founders with tokenization, product development and fundraising.
The program’s panel of mentors and experts boasts leading names in the blockchain industry, including Binance, Dapper Labs, Enjin, The Sandbox and more. Next year, Brinc and Animoca Brands plan to accelerate over 100 companies through LaunchPad Luna.
Brinc Fouonder and Chief Executive Officer Manav Gupta said that Web 3.0 technologies have the potential to democratise access to financial services and information, develop a more inclusive digital economy through aligned value capture mechanisms, and transform global business processes, just as the Internet did.
“Working with Animoca Brands to support leading companies in this space is an incredible opportunity, and underscores an increasing interest in utilising accelerators to access high-quality startup opportunities at scale,” he said.
Meanwhile, Animoca Brands Executive Chairman and Co-Founder Yat Siu said Brinc is the leading name in startup acceleration for emerging markets and technologies, and its sights are set firmly on the future and on sustainability.
“We share a common vision of an open future with blockchain adoption in traditional and growth sectors, and we look forward to the innovations that will emerge from its acceleration programs,” he said.
Brinc is a global venture accelerator operating 18 multidisciplinary accelerator programs in 7 countries. It accelerates startups focused on Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, connected hardware, drones, robotics, clean energy and food technology all within a sustainability mandate.
The firm has grown significantly since its 2014 launch and has invested in and supported the growth of more than 200 startups with founders from over 35 countries to date. In 2020, founder Manav Gupta announced Brinc’s mission to invest in more than 1,000 startups that are developing solutions to combat climate change and build a more inclusive and equitable society within the next five years.
At the core of Brinc’s business is the belief the world’s toughest challenges can be solved by entrepreneurs, whom it calls “game changers”. Brinc’s portfolio contributes to improving food and water security, healthcare, climate change, urbanization, connectivity, transportation and financial inclusion.
Brinc also supports corporations with investment services, distributed innovation strategies, sourcing of new startups and technologies, as well as venture building Web 3.0 enabled businesses. Global corporations (Manulife, Huawei, Schneider Electric, Puma, Batelco, Merck, Omantel, Linrun Group, Zhihui Park), government organizations (Hong Kong Science Park, NEOM, MBRIF, Guangdong Soft-tech Park), Universities (HK City University, National University of Singapore) and leading venture funds (Artesian, LeverVC, Tamkeen, EDB) have all run programs with Brinc over the years.
In 2021, Brinc launched BrincArtesian, a Singapore fund manager, to provide limited partners access to emerging market Series A+ co-investment opportunities.
Animoca Brands, Brinc launch Launchpad Luna, an accelerator for NFT startups