Funding Roundup: Gaming startup Azra Games raises $42M

Leading this week’s funding wrap is Azra Games, a gaming studio.

The company announced a Series A round of $42.7 million, led by Pantera Capital with participation from a16z Crypto, a16z Games and NFX.

The firm is focused on creating role-playing games specifically on mobile. Mark Otero, who previously worked at Electronic Arts, founded the studio.

“The funding will be instrumental in accelerating the growth of Azra Games and advancing its various projects that are currently in development, including its flagship ground-breaking game, currently code-named ‘Project Legends,’” a press release announced. 

The studio plans to roll out games with the ability to add in technologies such as blockchain. 

Read more: A wave of new games could prove NFTs aren’t dead after all

“The team at Azra Games has the incredible opportunity and vision to trailblaze the fourth generation of mobile RPG games that combines the creativity of new gaming formats and experiences with the digital ownership of blockchain,” said a16z Crypto’s Arianna Simpson.

Then, we have a pre-seed round coming out of stealth. 

Hyve, a secured network on Symbiotic’s ecosystem, announced a $1.85 million pre-seed round as it exited stealth. 

Lemniscap led the round, with participation from Paper Ventures and Frachtis. 

“Across the Web3 landscape, current infrastructure has struggled to keep up with the growing complexity and data demands of modern applications. As we move towards an increasingly decentralized future, the need for robust, scalable and secure infrastructure has never been more pronounced,” Douwe Fassen, Hyve’s CEO, said in a press release.

Read more: DeFi’s slow infrastructure is holding back mass adoption

Other notable rounds: 

• Blockstream raised $210 million in convertible note financing. The round was led by Fulgur Ventures.
• Crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial announced a $25 million Series C in a round led by Ripple — with an aim to launch a US perpetual futures trading platform. 
• Gaming startup PiP raised $10 million in seed funding in a round led by Exinity. 
• Layer said it raised $6 million in a seed round led by 1kx, with participation from Fabric Ventures, Arrington Capital and others.

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