Saudi Arabia is making significant moves across industries ranging from sports to technology, and web3 is high on the list of investments for the future. Now a key part of Saudi Arabia’s future strategy, NEOM is rumored to have invested $50 million in web3 gaming and metaverse giant Animoca Brands.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen Saudi Arabia more and more in Western news. I’m no expert on geopolitics or global finance, but the general consensus seems to be that securing the Saudis’ financial future in a post-oil world (or at least a post-oil black gold) is key. We’ve seen it especially in football, golf and boxing, but there are many other elements that are less visible to the public eye. One I’ve been following for a while is web3.
Saudi Arabia and Web3
The Saudi government is making moves on web3 this year, and I wanted to keep an eye on it. In April 2023, Korean game publishers will: Wemade announces partnership with Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment (MISA) “This progress will be another step towards realizing our national goal of becoming a hub for gaming and esports in line with the National Gaming and Esports Strategy,” the MISA representative added.
This partnership was formed almost simultaneously with the Metaverse project, sandbox, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Saudi government to support metaverse development. This is likely where the first seeds for Animoca’s relationship with Saudi Arabia were formed.
NEOM invests in the Animoca brand.
Animoca Brands is definitely one of the most recognizable names in web3 gaming and a company I’ve been writing about consistently over the past few years. Animoca has been investing in web3 projects for some time and boasts an impressive portfolio of projects under its umbrella. Well, now Animoca has received more inbound investment.
NEOM is difficult to explain succinctly. It is a kind of modern utopia that will provide a new eco-city on the coast of Saudi Arabia. the line?) and commercial opportunities. NEOM has formed its own investment department. Neom Investment Fund (NIF) is part of Prince Salman’s $500 billion fund. The fund has invested in several emerging technology companies; Recent AnnouncementsIt turns out one of them is the Animoca brand.
The NIF Strategy is designed to align NEOM’s development objectives with those of innovators and institutional investors and to de-risk NEOM’s opportunities to participate in creating key global growth businesses and thriving economies. To date, NIF has invested in several technology companies within NEOM’s 14 priority sectors that will accelerate technologies critical to NEOM projects and have a significant impact on the future and sustainability of life. This approach, replicated over time, will position NEOM as a model for sustainable economic development.
— Majid Mufti, CEO of Neom Investment Fund
If Saudi Arabia’s focus is esports, gaming, web3, metaverse and various combinations of these categories, Animoca Brands makes perfect sense as an investment. There may be no organization better suited to support the growth of web3 gaming in Saudi Arabia.
Is this positive when it comes to web3 gaming? Yes, I believe so. There are two reasons: First, the massive investment in Animoca feels like a clear win for web3 games, as the company has been aggressively investing funds to expand its footprint. Second, Saudi Arabia has the money to exert influence in any industry it sets its sights on, and if it is playing the game in its various iterations, we can only hope that the money goes into the right hands for the benefit of the industry’s growth.