The Sandbox Funding, Investors & Competitors

The Sandbox has raised $118M across 4 funding rounds, most recently a $20M undisclosed-stage round in June 2024.

Last The Sandbox funding round

$20M

Undisclosed stage · Jun 2024

Cumulative funding The Sandbox raised

$118M

across 4 funding rounds

Key investors in The Sandbox

The Sandbox Overview

About The Sandbox

The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is a blockchain-based open metaverse platform where users create, own, and monetize 3D gaming experiences and assets as NFTs on Ethereum. The platform has secured more than 165 IP partnerships, including Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, The Smurfs, Care Bears, and Atari, and builds on a mobile game with more than 40 million installs. Its native SAND token and virtual land NFTs are held by parties including Binance, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Yield Guild Gaming, with land NFT primary sales generating more than $144 million in gross trading volume.


Founded

2012

HQ

Hong KongHong Kong

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2C

Revenue model

Product sales

The Sandbox Funding History

The Sandbox has raised a total of $118M across 4 funding rounds.

The Sandbox's first fundraising round was a $3M seed round in December 2019. The most recent completed round was a $20M undisclosed-stage round in June 2024.

The Sandbox funding rounds

The Sandbox funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Jun 2024Undisclosed stageAnimoca Brands (lead); Kingsway Capital (lead); LG Technology Ventures; True Global Ventures (TGV)$20M-
Nov 2021Series BSoftBank Group (lead)$93MThe Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is a blockchain-based open metaverse platform where users create, own, and monetize 3D gaming experiences and assets as NFTs on Ethereum. It raised $93 million in a Series B funding round on November 10, 2021, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2—SoftBank's first crypto investment—with participation from Animoca Brands, Liberty City Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, Samsung Next, LG Technology Ventures, Com2uS, True Global Ventures, SCB 10X, and Polygon Studios. The funds aim to accelerate growth as an open metaverse, support creators, attract IP partnerships, scale operations, player acquisition, and launch a playable version enabling monetization of user-generated content. At the time, The Sandbox had secured over 165 IP partnerships including Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, and CryptoKitties, with high-profile land NFT owners like Binance, Bored Ape Yacht Club, the Winklevoss twins, and Yield Guild Gaming. It reported over $144 million in gross trading volume from land NFT primary sales, retaining 5% of secondary sales, 12,000 unique wallets holding land, and over 500,000 registered unique user wallets. The company declined to disclose its valuation, though its native SAND token had a market cap of nearly $2.5 billion, with The Sandbox owning about 22% of tokens. This round followed a prior $2 million raise a year earlier and preceded talks of a potential $400 million raise at over $4 billion valuation in 2022. Wedbush Securities advised on the deal, highlighting the platform's positioning for brands, IPs, and celebrities in games, live performances, and social experiences. The Sandbox builds on a mobile game IP with over 40 million installs, fueling virtual real-estate demand in the burgeoning metaverse sector.
Mar 2020Series ASquare Enix; True Global Ventures (TGV); Mindfulness Capital; B Cryptos; 1kx$2M-
Dec 2019Seed-$3M-

Who has invested in The Sandbox?

9 investors have backed The Sandbox across its funding rounds, including True Global Ventures (TGV), SoftBank Group, Animoca Brands, 1kx, Kingsway Capital and LG Technology Ventures.

Lead investors include Animoca Brands, Kingsway Capital and SoftBank Group.


The Sandbox Investors

Investors in The Sandbox by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
True Global Ventures (TGV)SingaporeSingapore2ParticipantMar 2020
Square EnixJapanTokyo1ParticipantMar 2020
SoftBank GroupJapanTokyo1LeadNov 2021
LG Technology VenturesUnited StatesSan Jose, CA1ParticipantJun 2024
Animoca BrandsHong KongHong Kong1LeadJun 2024
Kingsway CapitalUnited KingdomLondon1LeadJun 2024
Mindfulness CapitalHong KongHong Kong1ParticipantMar 2020

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Acquisitions by The Sandbox

The Sandbox has acquired 3 companies to date.

Last acquisition by The Sandbox was on January 30th 2025. The Sandbox acquired QED Builders for undisclosed valuation.


Latest Acquisitions by The Sandbox

QED Builders
Sviper
Cualit
Description
QED Builders is a software development studio building web3, AI, and SaaS products for startups and enterprises. Based in Eastern Europe, the 25-person team handles full-stack development using Solidity, React, and Python since 2020. QED has launched 20-plus applications, including NFT marketplaces and ML dashboards, for clients in blockchain and e-commerce.
Sviper is a Hamburg-based mobile game studio founded in 2016 by veterans from Germany's major publishers. The independent team develops free-to-play titles emphasizing high-quality gameplay for iOS and Android devices. Sviper combines data-driven design with rapid iteration in a lean environment to create competitive multiplayer experiences. Its debut projects target global casual gaming audiences with innovative mechanics and polished visuals.
Cualit delivers full-service digital experiences including custom software development, marketing, and design using Ruby on Rails, Java, PHP, HTML5, and Swift. The agency supports U.S. brands and startups with integrated teams, U.S. offices for time zone alignment, and broad technology stacks via cualit.com.
HQ CountryRomaniaGermanyUnited States
HQ City
Timisoara
Hamburg
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Deal Date30 Jan 202528 Feb 202319 May 2022
Valuationundisclosedundisclosedundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Investments by The Sandbox

The Sandbox has invested in 6 companies to date.

Latest investment by The Sandbox was on May 1st 2024. The Sandbox invested in Matera in their $4M Seed round.


Latest Investments by The Sandbox

Matera
LandVault
UGC90 Ultimate Gamechanger
Smobler Studios
Description
Matera is a Web3 platform that incentivizes content creators with cryptocurrency rewards for engagement on platforms like Twitter and Discord. Users earn $MTR tokens through posting, commenting, and community participation tracked via on-chain verification. Founded in 2022 and based in Lisbon, it supports over 50,000 authors across crypto projects, distributing rewards from a liquidity pool backed by partnerships with Solana ecosystem protocols.
Landvault is a London-based platform building infrastructure for 3D web experiences and metaverse applications. The company offers Hyperfy, an AI-driven creator tool compatible with Unreal Engine and Unity for generating digital twins of real estate, retail stores, and event venues. Landvault enables monetization through NFT land sales and virtual commerce, powering immersive worlds for brands like BMW and government agencies. Its SDK supports browser-based VR without plugins across desktop and mobile.
UGC90 Ultimate Gamechanger is a Switzerland-based accelerator program for Web3 gaming studios targeting metaverse platforms. Participants develop blockchain-integrated titles with support from Polygon and Immutable X networks. The initiative connects developers to venture capital from a16z crypto and Makers Fund. Based in Zug, UGC90 runs 90-day cohorts with mentorship on NFT marketplaces and play-to-earn mechanics.
Smobler Studios is a Toronto-headquartered multimedia studio specializing in 3D animation, video production, and metaverse development. The company creates storyboards, technical illustrations, and immersive experiences for clients in gaming, advertising, and education, with projects featured at SIGGRAPH and partnerships with Unity Technologies for AR/VR content.
HQ CountryUnited KingdomUnited KingdomTurkeyCanada
HQ City
London
London
Istanbul
Calgary
Deal Date1 May 202423 Mar 202322 Nov 20226 Sep 2022
RoundSeedSeries BICOSeed
Raised$4M$3M$100K$1M
InvestorsSaxon Partners; Side Door Ventures; Medusa Ventures; High Class CryptoPlatina Partners; SoftBank Group; Gemini Frontier Fund; Animoca Brands; Kingsway Capital; HodlCo-Enjinstarter; Brinc
Valuationundisclosed$100Mundisclosedundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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The Sandbox Competitors

The Sandbox competitors include listed companies like Block and Coinbase, and private ones like Immutable Systems, Sky Mavis, Gala Games and Ripple.

Public and private companies comparable to The Sandbox
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
Immutable SystemsAustraliaSydneyPrivate--$2.5B-
Sky MavisSingaporeSingaporePrivate$1.3B-$1.9B-
Gala GamesUnited StatesSalt Lake City, UTPrivate--$1.5B-
RippleUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate$1.2B-$50B-
BlockUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$24B$2.2B$46B1.6x
CoinbaseUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$7.2B$1.8B$46B7.6x

The Sandbox Public Comps

The Sandbox is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Microsoft, NetEase, Nintendo, Strategy, Block, Coinbase, Take-Two Interactive, Roblox, Circle and Konami.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Microsoft$332B$205B11.1x10.7x18.0x17.5x
NetEase$17B$5.8B3.1x3.0x8.9x7.7x
Nintendo$15B$3.5B3.3x3.3x14.0x18.1x
Strategy$477M($5.4B)149.4x144.4x(13.1x)(12.3x)
Block$24B$2.2B1.7x1.6x18.6x9.4x
Coinbase$7.2B$1.8B6.1x7.6x24.2x27.2x
Take-Two Interactive$6.7B$431M6.1x5.3x94.0x29.8x
Roblox$4.9B($1B)6.7x4.7x(32.6x)24.1x

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Common questions about The Sandbox

When was The Sandbox founded?The Sandbox was founded in 2012.
Where is The Sandbox headquartered?The Sandbox is headquartered in Hong Kong.
Is The Sandbox publicly listed?No, The Sandbox is a private, VC-backed company.
How much funding has The Sandbox raised?The Sandbox has raised $118M across 4 funding rounds.
What was The Sandbox's last funding round?The Sandbox's last funding round was a $20M undisclosed-stage round in June 2024, led by Animoca Brands and Kingsway Capital.
Who are The Sandbox's investors?The Sandbox's investors include True Global Ventures (TGV), Square Enix, SoftBank Group, LG Technology Ventures, Animoca Brands, Kingsway Capital, Mindfulness Capital, B Cryptos and 1kx.
Which companies are comparable to The Sandbox?Companies comparable to The Sandbox include Immutable Systems, Sky Mavis, Gala Games, Ripple, Block and Coinbase.
How many companies has The Sandbox acquired?The Sandbox has acquired 3 companies, including QED Builders, Sviper and Cualit.
How many companies has The Sandbox invested in?The Sandbox has invested in 6 companies, including Matera, LandVault, UGC90 Ultimate Gamechanger, Smobler Studios, Cyan and Coinhouse.
What was The Sandbox's last investment?In May 2024, The Sandbox invested in Matera's $4M seed round alongside Saxon Partners, Side Door Ventures, Medusa Ventures and 1 other investor.

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