ONCHAIN STUDIOS RAISES $7.5M TO DEVELOP NEW NFT PLATFORM CRYPTOYS

OnChain Studios has announced a US$7.5M seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Draper & Associates, CoinFund, Sound Ventures, Dapper Labs, Collab + Currency, WndrCo, and other notable investors.

The NFT studio’s flagship project, Cryptoys, will be launching soon on Flow, and will offer the first-ever fully interactive NFT (non-fungible token) digital toys. In addition to being able to buy, sell, and collect Cryptoys, consumers will also be able to play with them inside an immersive world built on the blockchain. To add depth, each Cryptoy can gain more capabilities as it’s played with more often, continually unlocking new experiences. 

Will Weinraub, CEO and Co-Founder of OnChain Studios, explained: “What started off as a side project for my daughter has turned into this amazing company, and I feel blessed to be building it with such an incredible team. The rise of NFTs and blockchain allows us to create new revolutionary experiences that have never been done before. With Cryptoys we are building a rich, expansive world that combines elements of entertainment, gaming, and toys into an experience customers can truly own and take with them forever.”

Arianna Simpson, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz, added: “Cryptoys is a perfect example of the compelling new NFT gaming and entertainment experiences that are now possible with the advent of web3 — a fully-interactive 3D universe with custom toys for each participant. We’re thrilled to partner with the world-class team at OnChain Studios to bring Cryptoys to life and introduce the joys of NFT gaming to mainstream audiences.”

The first series of drops will consist of an original line of characters, with the Cryptoys universe then expanding from there. The company says “a number of well-known brands” are also looking into ways to leverage the full-stack Cryptoys platform to turn their IP into NFT-based interactive digital toys. 

In addition to NFT toys, OnChain Studios is also building an open world experience called The Cryptoyverse, which will allow users to play with their toys in a digital environment, with P2E (play-to-earn) mechanics. 

The Cryptoys platform is being built on Flow, the fast, easy-to-use, open blockchain with the biggest and fastest growing NFT marketplace.