Immutable Raises $200M to Bring NFTs to Layer 2 Ethereum

Non-fungible token (NFT) startup Immutable has become the latest to conclude a massive round of funding to develop its layer-2 scaling platform and blockchain games.

The Australian blockchain firm has secured a fresh funding round which was led by Singapore state investment giant Temasek. Other participants in the Series C round included Animoca Brands, Tencent, Mirae Asset, ParaFi Capital, Declaration Partners, and a number of others.

Immutable tweeted the news on March 7, adding that the firm was now valued at $2.5 billion. The company had raised money at a valuation of $410 million in previous funding rounds.

“We’re supercharging our mission to make NFTs mainstream through high-quality blockchain games,”

High-speed zero-gas NFTs

Immutable stated that the raise will allow it to focus on global expansion taking on more than 200 new hires this year. It also wants to further develop Immutable X, its layer 2 NFT scaling network. Immutable X uses StarkEx zk-proofs to scale Ethereum and provider NFT creators with high throughput and zero gas fees with minimal environmental impact.

Immutable X was launched in April 2021 and had already saved NFT creators millions of dollars in gas fees by the end of the month.

Additionally, there will be an expansion to its studio content which includes the popular games Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians. Immutable co-founder and president, Robbie Ferguson, said “we’re excited to raise this capital so we can help deploy it aggressively through M&A opportunities,” before adding:

“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.”

It has been a big year for Immutable, in February the Sydney-based firm announced a partnership with GameStop to launch an NFT marketplace and a $100 million fund to support NFT creators for gaming studios, Web3, and Metaverse gaming.

In May, Immutable partnered with the GreenPark Sports mobile gaming company to focus on scaling sports NFTs.

IMX Prices Surge

The platform’s native IMX token has skyrocketed in reaction to the news. At the time of writing, IMX was trading up 42% on the day at $1.61 according to CoinGecko.

The gains had wiped out all losses over the past fortnight but IMX was still trading down 83% from its Nov. 26 all-time high of $9.52.

There are around 12% of the two billion total token supply circulating giving it a market capitalization of $387 million.