A new cat box
CryptoKitties’ developer Axiom Zen has raised $12 million in VC money to spin out its seminal collectibles game as a standalone company.
Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures led the round, with a bunch of angel investors including Zynga chairman Mark Pincus and Coinbase founder Fred Ehrsam also involved.
Going global
Since its launch, the Ethereum-based ‘game’ has been ‘played’ by over 1.5 million people, with transactions worth more than $40 million made, although presumably the value depends on how much the Ether cryptocurrency is worth compared to US dollars on any given day.
Most recently, a beta version of CryptoKitties has been rolled out for testing in China as a iOS app, with the full Greater China launch also including Hong Kong and Taiwan.
For that project, Canadian outfit Axiom Zen has been working with Hong Kong-based and Australian-floated publisher Animoca Brands.