Sandbox Announces $50M Funding for Its Startup Accelerator Program

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Virtual world project The Sandbox has announced its Metaverse accelerator program, which will drive the development of open Metaverse by investing $50 million in startups. The Animoca Brands subsidiary is partnering with venture accelerator firm Brinc to target 30 to 40 blockchain startups each year for the program.

The Sandbox Metaverse accelerator program will allocate up to $250,000 in investment to each potential project and will provide additional incentives to the top performing projects. Prizes include The Sandbox (SAND) digital assets and LAND, digital real estate in the virtual world of The Sandbox. In addition to this, the top-performing startups will receive additional investment grants and renowned mentors.

According to Sebastien Borget, co-founder of The Sandbox, the initiative is an extension of its goal of supporting a new wave of Metaverse entrepreneurs. Through this, startups around the world can bring their ideas to life. “We are particularly eager to support the ambitions of underrepresented founders as they explore the limitless possibilities the sandbox ecosystem offers,” he said.

Applications are now open and the first investments are planned for the second quarter of 2022. The program runs within Launchpad Luna, a partnership between Animoca Brands and Brinc to support the growth of startups.

The program supports the development of an open metaverse, that is, a metaverse that does not belong to any single entity. According to Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, the open metaverse “offers a unique opportunity to create a participatory and collaborative non-zero-sum environment based on openness, fairness, user governance and digital property rights. “

related: NFT-focused Animoca Brands valued at $5B after raising $358M

In addition to supporting businesses, the development of Metaverse may also help the environment in the long run. According to Manav Gupta, founder and CEO of Brinc, “As digital experiences evolve, we will find ourselves with fewer and fewer reasons to emit carbon at work or play.” demand for physical products with unsustainable production methods, such as commodities.