Futureverse raises $54 million to drive expansion of diversified Metaverse platform -TGN

Future fresha crypto technology and gaming startup, has secured $54 million in Series A funding to support its expansion into the metaverse space.

The financing round was led by a venture capital firm 10T ownswith the participation of Ripple Labsthe creator of XRP ledgerCompany said in a recent press release.

Futureverse said it plans to use the money for research and development purposes, as well as to advance its gaming-focused blockchain, dubbed The Root Network.

The root network is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine and includes XRP Ledger integration, allowing users to use XRP and its non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

In addition, Futureverse has plans to develop more blockchain games in the future.

“The metaverse has the potential to transform the way people interact and collaborate and enhance our experiences in a number of different areas, including gaming, payments, wealth management and more,” Aaron McDonald and Shara Senderoff, co-founders of Futureverse, said in a statement.

Futurevese is a platform of 11 companies ranging from game studios and entities that power web3 payments to blockchain startups that provide brands and builders with the tools to more easily create content for the metaverse.

The company was created in late 2022 through the merger of eight companies and has since acquired three more.

Futurevese aims to combine AI and Blockchain technology

Futureverse’s overarching goal is to combine artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology to create the infrastructure necessary for a seamless metaverse experience.

Futureverse has already launched two sports-related games.

In April, they released World Cup AI League, a mobile soccer game for Android and iOS with AI-powered gameplay.

While the game does not feature any real football stars, it offers colorful and cartoonish characters whose actions are controlled by AI.

In addition, Futureverse teamed up with the estate of the late boxer Muhammad Ali to create Muhammad Ali: The Next Legends, an AI game that uses NFTs.

Players act as coaches and make strategic decisions for their boxers. Each Boxer NFT must be paired with an “AI Brain” NFT to determine their behavior.

Meanwhile, the recent funding comes amid growing skepticism about the concept of the metaverse, which has been all the hype in recent years.

However, Ripple Labs president Monica Long said she still believes in Futureverse’s vision.

“While we are in the earliest stages of what a project like this — and really the larger concept of the metaverse — can achieve, we at Ripple are excited to contribute to the fundamental infrastructure layer and bring real utility to the end users of the open metaverse,” Long said in a statement.

The metaverse has been a subject of intense debate in the tech world, especially as many big supporters of the idea have recently abandoned their aspirations.

Earlier this year, entertainment giant Disney announced it was eliminating its metaverse division as part of wider layoffs that will affect as many as 7,000 employees.

Moreover, Microsoft has stopped Industrial Metaverse Core team this year, a four-month-old project aimed at boosting the use of the metaverse in industrial settings.