Animoca Brands
A digital property rights company building the open metaverse
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Prosper
A decentralized protocol tokenizing Bitcoin hashrate
BLIFE Protocol
Decentralized ecosystem protocol on Bitcoin
Quidd
Marketplace for digital collectibles
Metaprints
Helping brands enter the metaverse
Animoca Brands Japan
A strategic subsidiary bridging Japan and global Web3
HeyAni
AI platform trained by Animoca Brands
Minds
Blockchain-powered autonomous AI agent platform
Forj
NFT and metaverse solutions provider under Animoca Brands
PIXELYNX
Music metaverse platform
Moca Network
Chain-agnostic decentralized identity network
SPORTPASS
Fan engagement and gaming platform
TinyTap
User-generated content educational game platform
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About Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands is a Web3 gaming developer and venture capital firm. Its core business includes developing blockchain games like The Sandbox, acquiring and publishing Web3 titles, and investing in a portfolio of over 600 digital asset companies. The company's key competitive advantage lies in its extensive network of portfolio projects and its focus on building an open metaverse where digital property rights are owned by users.
Market pain points Animoca addresses include the lack of true asset ownership in traditional gaming, where players spend money on items they do not actually control. By integrating blockchain, Animoca enables players to own, trade, and use assets across different games and platforms. It also helps Web3 projects with token strategy, ecosystem partnerships, liquidity support, and node operations through its digital asset services arm.
In the past six months (March to September 2026), Animoca launched Minds, an agentic AI platform that allows users to create and manage autonomous AI agents. The platform migrated to MiniMax M3, reducing inference costs by an estimated 90-95%. Minds completed a live pilot with Visa, enabling agents to conduct transactions on behalf of users. The platform has become one of the fastest-growing applications on OpenRouter, ranking high in categories like Entertainment, Roleplay, and Creative Writing. No major negative events were reported during this period.
Animoca Brands acquired SOMO to bolster its digital collectibles and gaming portfolio. It secured a virtual asset service provider license in Dubai, enhancing compliant operations in the Middle East. A joint venture was formed to pursue a stablecoin license in Hong Kong, advancing regional financial infrastructure. The launch of Animoca Minds accelerates agency economy development, while strategic AVAX token investment supports Avalanche ecosystem growth across Asia and the Middle East.
Key developments at Animoca Brands (Mar 5 – Sep 5, 2026):
Investment & Ecosystem In May, launched a up-to-US$10M investment programme for developers building on the Minds persistent AI agent platform, offering platform support, Cognition Credits, and access to its 600+ Web3 ecosystem .
Strategic Partnership In July, piloted AI-powered commerce with Visa, enabling Minds agents to discover rewards, inform decisions, and securely transact within user-defined controls .
Leadership & Listing CFO Jared Shaw moved to a strategic advisory role; Shaun Kraft became CFO; Alan Lau chairs GROW Digital Wealth; Brian Chan was elevated to Chief Development Officer. These changes accompany the proposed Nasdaq listing via reverse merger with Currenc Group, with Animoca shareholders expected to own ~95% .
Future Focus Official priorities centre on AI agents and the agentic web (Web4), including R&D into evolving Minds into a real-world, MMO-style agent experience (like Pokémon GO) .
Co-founder: Yat Siu (Executive Chairman, Co-founder). Veteran tech entrepreneur, founded Outblaze, later co-founded Animoca Brands, focusing on Web3 gaming and digital asset investment.
Core executives: Chairman Joichi Ito; President Evan Auyang, former Managing Director at GLG International; Investment Head Robby Yung, first CEO of Animoca Brands; CFO Shaun Kraft, former CFO of MoneyHero; Chief Development Officer Brian Chan, ex-McKinsey consultant; Chief Investment Officer Josh Du; Chief Strategy Officer Keyvan Peymani; Co-COO Minh Do, former APAC head at GLG; Chief Business Officer Liu Jiaming; Vice President Simon Doherty; VP of Human Resources Judy Lee; Associate Director Caleb Lim.
Animoca Brands has seen frequent team changes recently. In June 2026, Shaun Kraft joined as CFO, succeeding Jared Shaw; Chief Business Officer Alan Lau also left in June. Additionally, researcher hoidya, Director of Emerging Markets Leigh Travers, AI staff Tom H, Portfolio GTM Icey Liu, and Lead Product Manager Prakhar A. departed between March and May 2026.
According to online sources, Jared Shaw and Alan Lau did not completely leave but transitioned to strategic advisor and Chairman of GROW Digital Wealth respectively; meanwhile, Brian Chan was promoted to Chief Development Officer. Overall, the company is adjusting its leadership to focus on AI and RWA.