Irreverant Labs gets $40 million from a16z and others.
Money for a Hundred-Year Game
Irreverant Labs—the technology company behind MechaFightClub (MFC)—raised a massive $40 million in Series A funding to boost the futuristic mecha-cockfighting game.
The funding round was announced on May 9 via Twitter and brought many prominent VCs together, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Solana Ventures. Irreverent Labs’ mission is to reinvent the wheel for games through AI and machine learning, creating continually evolving and fun digital experiences.
Arianna Simpson, General Partner at a16z, shared on the firm’s website her first impressions during the pitch from Irreverent Labs’ cofounders:
“Some sort of chicken game? Sounded weird. I did not have high expectations. I could not have been more wrong. Fifteen minutes into the call, my mood had completely turned, and I was laughing hard. Rahul and David managed to convey in a short window that they were a serious, capable team, and also that they had an incredible sense of humor and no qualms about baking it into the product.”
This funding round comes from the same investors that participated in the initial $5 million seed round in November 2021, plus some new additions from the entertainment industry. For example, Michael Ovitz, founder of the Creative Artists Agency (one of the most influential groups in Hollywood), and Sonam Kapoor, a Bollywood icon and one of the world’s biggest film stars.
The entry of showbiz into Web3 might be a hint of what’s more to come. The team positions MFC at the intersection between TikTok and Netflix, providing highly shareable, clippable, and hilarious content for broad audiences.
The PlaytoEarn protocol has yet to set a date for the first Non-Fungible Token (NFT) mint, but the anticipated roadmap suggests it will be before June 21, 2022. There will be 6969 hatchlist spots for eligible people who have signed up on MechaFightClub’s website. Once the eggs hatch, users will be able to play some of the first minigames.
What is MechaFightClub:
In MFC, robotic roosters and hens fight in a hilarious combat sport. Characters are unique, artificially intelligent non-player characters (NPCs) living on the blockchain as NFTs. Just like characters, fights are also unique and increasingly absurd.
The team claims that the viewing experience will be just as enjoyable as direct gameplay – shareable and exciting moments, all generating more human interaction for mechabots to thrive on. Owners aren’t just trainers, they’re also promoters for their mechabots, and mechabots will earn more by generating more human engagement.
Where to find MechaFightClub:
What is Irreverent Labs:
Irreverent Labs is a tech company that brings together a world-class team with backgrounds in computer science, machine learning, arts, game development, storytelling, and blockchain with one mission: making games that will outlast any player and become worlds of their own.
Where to find Irreverent Labs:
Source : web3wire.news
