White Star Capital Raises $120M for Web3 Investment Fund

White Star Capital, a technology venture capital firm, has secured $120 million in funding for its second Digital Asset Fund (DAF II) to invest in early-stage blockchain and Web3 businesses and cryptocurrency networks. The main backing for the fund is from the game publishing giant, Ubisoft.

The fund will focus primarily on decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming, and will invest as much as $7 million in each of the 20-25 companies in Europe, Asia, and North America.

The firm’s increased focus on DeFi, Web3 and blockchain-based technology could potentially be indicative that it will support companies that utilize or develop Metaverse solutions, too.

White Star’s investments through its first DAF in 2020 include ALEX, a stack-based DeFi protocol, and the well-known decentralized exchange (DEX), Pancakeswap, as well as a number of other projects. The firm also backed the initiative, Bitcoin Odyssey, on March 10 for investment firms to invest $165 million in solutions that would drive Bitcoin adoption.

Investments in NFT gaming and Metaverse development are on the rise. On April 11, the creator of Fortnite, Epic Games, announced that it had raised $2 billion from Sony Group Corporation and KIRKBI, the LEGO Group holding company. This follows Epic Games’ new commitment towards developing virtual games for the Metaverse.

Animoca also recently announced its acquisition of the racing game publisher, Eden Games, for $15.3 million. The reason behind the acquisition is to bolster its REVV Motorsport NFT game ecosystem, as well as to build out more games in the Metaverse.