The funding round valued Yuga Labs at $4 billion.

Yuga Labs raised $450 million in a monster seed round led by a16z crypto, with participation from Animoca Brands and its subsidiary The Sandbox, LionTree, Sound Ventures, Thrive Capital, and crypto leaders like FTX and MoonPay, and other partners and collaborators. Yuga is the owner of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of NFTs that has grabbed the internet’s attention and could well become a big brand. (BusinessWire)

“Yuga Labs has quickly become a web3 culture, gaming, and entertainment empire,” said Chris Lyons, general partner at a16z crypto. “Mainstream adoption in web3 is accelerating at lightning speed, and Yuga is at the forefront of merging culture and innovation for everyone to enter the metaverse.”

Yuga has made some sharp moves. On Friday it offered a peek into Otherside, its soon-to-come metaverse. After BAYC became a sensation, it lost no time in acquiring CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs, thus consolidating its hold on the top NFT brands. Last week it inaugurated Apecoin, its own cryptocurrency.

“Already, a new economy is possible with the IP of Apes, Punks, and Meebits, owned by the community,” said Nicole Muniz, CEO of Yuga Labs. “The possibilities for blockchain’s impact on culture are endless, and so we are building a beautiful, interoperable world for people to explore and play in. There’s a lot to come.”

Yuga will apply the seed capital to boost its technical workforce, and to invest in various joint ventures and partnerships it has planned.

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