Japanese Gaming Giant Bandai Namco Establishes $25M Fund for Web 3, Metaverse Start-ups

Japanese gaming developer and publishing company, Bandai Namco, announced setting up a fund of 1 billion yen (or $7.9 million approx.) in 1 year and 3 billion yen ($23.8 million approx.) in 3 years to invest in upcoming gaming companies related to Web 3 and metaverse.

Bandai Namco Entertainment 021 Fund

According to the report, the startup investment fund, dubbed “Bandai Namco Entertainment 021 Fund,” will focus on blockchain companies in Japan as well as overseas in a bid to accelerate the adoption of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and encryption technology.

The focus will also be intensifying the decision-making process on laying the foundation of an IP (Intellectual property) Metaverse and the development of a new entertainment system.

The latest investment fund also targets entertainment-related products and service providers engaged in VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), AI (artificial intelligence), etc.

Meanwhile, the gaming giant has been actively forming collaborations with several start-ups across different businesses and sectors to advance the growth of Web 3 and the metaverse ecosystem.

Strengthening its Footing Metaverse

The development comes two weeks after Bandai Namco announced its $130-million metaverse initiative that will be based on its Gundam IP. This is a part of the company’s plans to develop a metaverse for each IP as a new framework for connecting with fans.

The gaming giant intends to allow customers access to a myriad of entertainment on an IP axis while leveraging its “distinctive strengths to merge physical products and venues with digital elements in this IP Metaverse.

The release also stated,

“The new mid-term plan will introduce a new means of connecting fans to entertainment properties by building a metaverse for each IP under Bandai Namco Group’s portfolio, which is also utilized as a key part of the company’s IP based strategies.

Development will begin with the creation of the “GUNDAM Metaverse” where it will become a platform of opportunities for GUNDAM fans worldwide to come together to converse and connect in a variety of categories.”

Bandai Namco’s IP Axis strategy envisions a multi-IP hub of multiverses, with Gundam IP being one of the first instances.