Animoca Brands KK (Animoca Brands Japan), a strategic subsidiary of Animoca Brands Corporation Limited focusing on cooperative partnerships in Japan for non-fungible token (NFT)-related business opportunities, announced Friday that it has raised a total of $45 million from MUFG Bank, Ltd. (MUFG) and Animoca Brands Corporation Limited valuing the company at approximately $500 million (pre-money).

Animoca Brands said in a statement that Animoca Brands Japan has been considering a collaboration with MUFG for NFT related business opportunities.

According to the statement, Animoca Brands Japan will use the new capital to continue to secure licenses for popular intellectual properties, develop internal capabilities, and promote adoption of Web3 to multiple partners, increasing the value and utility of their branded content while fostering the development of a safe and secure NFT ecosystem in Japan.

Animoca Brands Japan was established in 2021 to support the adoption of Web3 among Japanese intellectual property (IP) and content holders.

It enables famous IP holders in Japan to participate in the Web3 ecosystem while leveraging the network, reach, and expertise of Animoca Brands in contributing to the establishment of the open metaverse.

Headquartered in Tokyo and with over 360 years of history, MUFG is one of the world’s leading financial groups which has a global network with approximately 2,400 locations in more than 50 countries. It has about 170,000 employees and offers services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing.

Animoca Brands is a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification that is working to advance digital property rights and contribute to the establishment of the open metaverse.

The company develops and publishes a broad portfolio of products including the SAND token; original games including The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes; and products utilizing popular intellectual properties including Disney, WWE, Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, Power Rangers, MotoGPTM, and Formula E.

It has multiple subsidiaries, including The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Quidd, GAMEE, nWay, Pixowl, Forj, Lympo, Grease Monkey Games, Eden Games, Darewise Entertainment, Notre Game, TinyTap, and Be Media.

Animoca Brands has a growing portfolio of more than 340 investments, including Colossal, Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, Star Atlas, and others.

Animoca Brands and Lympo partner with Play Magnus on chess-inspired blockchain game “Anichess”