DNABlock Inc. closed its second seed round of funding March 1 for technology to be deployed on Web3, a blockchain-based iteration of the world wide web.
The Manchester Square-based company raised $7 million from a diverse group of investors, including blockchain-focused investment firms Sfermion and Solana Ventures, as well as SoftBank Group’s minority startup-focused SB Opportunity Fund, cryptocurrency fund management firm LD Capital and more.
In a press release, the company said that it will use the funds to further scale Replikant, a flagship technology described as an “end-to-end, 3D, virtual production tool” that empowers creators to build, perform and publish content. Replikant provides customizable 3D avatars and real-time animation tools that require no prior knowledge of 3D programming to operate. The company also announced plans to expand its leadership team and to operate an L.A.-based creator studio to launch new non-fungible token (NFT) talent.
“The next great franchise isn’t going to come from the top-down, fully formed and with fixed narratives,” DNABlock co-founder and Chief Executive Anthony Kelani said in a statement. “It’s going to come from the bottom-up with stories that NFT communities write for themselves. I’m particularly excited that this will surface a new generation of stars from a much more diverse roster of creatives than we’ve seen from legacy media.”