LONDON, July 27, 2022 – Magicave, the digital toy, game and hobby startup, today announced it has raised $6.4m in funding, including a new $5.675m seed round led by leading gaming VC BITKRAFT Ventures and Fabric Ventures, alongside cryptography specialists Geometry and NFT-focused Sfermion. This follows a successful pre-seed round in late 2021, backed by early-stage funds Concept Ventures and Acequia Capital, along with well-known games investors Sir Ian Livingstone (founder of Games Workshop) and Nick Button-Brown.
Founded by game industry veterans Harry Holmwood (CEO), Ste Curran (Creative Director) and Ed Thorley (CTO), Magicave is crafting digital hobbies centred around beautiful, playful, tactile virtual items, which sit at the heart of an ecosystem of games, apps, players and creators. The company’s first project, dNo® (short for ‘d-Number’), marries collectible virtual dice with figures, tiles, stories and worlds, making innovative use of game and blockchain technology to nurture a truly unique digital hobby.
“We believe that blockchain technology, and the decentralisation and flexibility it offers players and creators, has the potential to create a new way of thinking around games: object-oriented, just as joyful and, crucially, consumer-owned. We’re assembling a world-class team of game developers, artists and designers to build hobbies at the forefront of gaming and web3. Raising a substantial round from such respected investors gives us the time, and expertise, to build something really exciting, commented Holmwood.
Nico Vereecke, Investor at BITKRAFT Ventures added, “From our first meeting it became clear that Magicave’s approach to Web3 is unlike any we’ve seen in the industry. Instead of using Blockchain as an economic layer, Magicave uses it to turn digital items into something fascinatingly close to physical toys. We’re excited about what this team has already achieved and what it will go on to do with our backing.”
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About Magicave
We’re building the next generation of digital toys. Beautiful, tactile, playful objects around which we’re building games, hobbies and communities. Founded by games industry veterans – via Sony PlayStation, Yakuto (acquired by Tencent), The Secret Police (Stardew Valley mobile), Marvelous and many more – and backed by leading game creators and investors, Magicave is building a fully remote team of developers, designers and artists across the world. Join our community and follow our progress on our Discord Channel or see our website at www.magicave.io.
About BITKRAFT Ventures
BITKRAFT Ventures is a leading investment platform for gaming and Web3 globally, and has been the most active gaming venture capital firm and lead investor in 2020 and 2021, according to research from InvestGame and Drake Star Partners. Founded by industry pioneer Jens Hilgers, BITKRAFT serves a worldwide network that spans many of the industry’s forward-thinking startups and founders—including former executives from the likes of Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, Epic Games, Google, and Apple who are working to build and operate the virtual worlds and economies of the future. BITKRAFT operates six venture funds with a total of over $825M in assets under management and has over 100 companies in its global portfolio as of July 2022.
BITKRAFT’s experienced international team works closely with exceptional entrepreneurs to create significant value through early candid partnerships, unique domain experience, entrepreneurial history, and a global ecosystem of strategic partners.
Find out more about how BITKRAFT and its portfolio companies are pushing the boundaries of Synthetic Reality® by visiting https://www.bitkraft.vc/vision.
About Fabric
Fabric Ventures backs the top founders in Web3, working as a venture contributor with the most enduring projects and networks at the heart of the new open, decentralised economy. Fabric Ventures LLP is an Appointed Representative of G10 Capital Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Fabric Ventures Group SARL is registered with the CSSF in Luxembourg.
About Sfermion
Founded in 2019, Sfermion is an investment firm focused on the non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem. Our goal is to accelerate the emergence of the open metaverse by investing in the founders, companies, and protocols creating the infrastructure and environments that will form the foundations of our digital future. By leveraging our multi-strategy approach, domain expertise, and vast network, we aim to capitalize on the influx of innovation and resources being deployed into the world of NFTs.
About Concept Ventures
Concept Ventures is the UK’s largest dedicated pre-seed fund, focused on backing founders reshaping how we work, play, and learn.
About Acequia Capital
Acequia Capital provides both venture capital and advice to early stage founders, with a focus on innovative technology companies.
Press Contact:
Kerry Gaffney
Kerry@magicave.io
dNo® is a registered trademark of Magicave Holdings Limited, “dNumber” and “Magicave” are trademarks of Magicave Holdings Limited. © Magicave Holdings Limited 2021-22. All rights reserved.
