Social Giant Line Raises $140 Million for NFT Push, ‘Brown and Friends’ Games

Line Subsequent, the NFT subsidiary of Japanese messaging big Line, has raised $140 million in a funding spherical led by personal fairness agency Crescendo Fairness Companions. The funding marks the biggest backing for an Asian blockchain firm this yr, the corporate claims.

The agency plans to make use of the recent capital injection to broaden its world NFT enterprise and introduce new providers to advertise wider Web3 adoption. First on the agenda is the official launch of Dosi, Line Subsequent’s world NFT market, in January 2024.

Built-in with Line’s current NFT platform in Japan, Dosi will probably be provided as a cell app that allows world buying and selling of digital property.

Line Subsequent—which is predicated in South Korea but additionally has places of work within the U.S. and Japan—can also be growing a social app powered by AI avatars, in addition to blockchain video games using Line’s well-liked Brown & Pals characters from the Line Pals IP. The corporate additionally operates the Recreation Dosi platform, which hosts numerous NFT video games.

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In April, Line Pals IP proprietor IPX introduced a collaboration with well-liked Ethereum NFT venture Azuki that may yield issues like merchandise, content material, and occasions.

Line’s new providers will probably be constructed on the blockchain community Finschia, which was beforehand referred to as Line Blockchain (and initially the Hyperlink Chain). Finschia’s native cryptocurrency is LINK. Line Subsequent and the Peter Thiel-backed Crescendo will be a part of the Finschia Basis to contribute to increasing the blockchain’s ecosystem.

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“Line’s world competitiveness and its imaginative and prescient to guide Web3 providers had been the funding thesis,” stated Crescendo Managing Accomplice Kevin Lee. “We hope to construct a regular for Web3 apps that common customers can simply use and undertake blockchain to all kinds of providers and types of Web2.”

Editor’s be aware: This text was written with the help of AI. Edited and fact-checked by Andrew Hayward.