Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands secures US$50 million from Saudi state project to promote regional Web3 development
- Under an agreement with Neom Company, a Saudi Vision 2030 smart city project, Animoca aims to ‘nurture the local Web3 ecosystem’
- Neom has not specified how it intends to integrate Web3 technologies like blockchain, but the company was recently seeking a ‘metaverse expert’
The two signed a memorandum of understanding to work on Web3 initiatives meant to align with the Saudi Vision 2030 plan, of which Neom is one of several key projects, Animoca announced on Monday. Half of the funding will come through the issuance of convertible notes capped at A$4.50 (US$2.86) per share, it said, and the rest of the funding will come through shares bought on the secondary market.
The partnership will see the companies work together on building out enterprise Web3 services and to “nurture the local Web3 ecosystem” by bringing in Animoca subsidiaries, partners and investees, the Hong Kong firm said.
“We are honoured and excited to partner with and receive investment from Neom, one of the world’s most ambitious projects seeking to use innovation and technology to redefine how we live, work, and play,” Animoca co-founder and chairman Yat Siu said in a statement. “We have always referred to the growth of the Web3 ecosystem as the emergence of a new meta-nation, and now Neom could well become the first region to fully harness the power of blockchain.”
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The Neom project was announced in 2017 with the goal of turning the 26,500 sq km (10,200 sq mi) area in northwestern Saudi Arabia into a hi-tech trade hub powered by clean energy.
“In terms of Hong Kong and the Middle East, I believe [the Animoca and Neom partnership] demonstrates that opportunities exist, and that there is mutual respect between the territories and a desire to build a brighter future together,” Siu said. “Such deals strongly indicate the presence of underlying trust.”