Ripple Labs, 10T Holdings Invest $54 Million in Futureverse

Futureverse, a startup that consists of 11 different startups working in various fields, secured $54 million in a Series A round led by 10T Holdings, a private company investing in the digital assets ecosystem, and other contributions, including Ripple Labs. 

The 11 startups of Futureverse are operating in the sectors of blockchain, gaming, metaverse, and artificial intelligence, according to Bloomberg. 

Futureverse was formed by the merger of eight companies in late 2022 and additional three firms joined them. It aims to develop the infrastructure of the metaverse users by combining the technologies of blockchain and AI. 

Ripple investments into Futureverse will include utilizing Ripple’s utility token $XRP for gas payments in addition to supporting XLS-20 standard NFTs.

One of the most notable projects by Futureverse is FLUF World, an NFT collection of cartoon rabbits, and AI League, a mobile soccer game licensed by the sport’s world governing body FIFA, which had been downloaded for more than 50,000 in the first three months. 

According to its co-founder Aaron Mcdonald, Futureverse has emerged stronger and more competitive after conducting a restructuring process that involved laying off about 20% of its staff. The startup now has more than 250 employees. 

McDonald asserted that blockchain is an integral part of their business, accounting for about 10% of their tech stack. He also believed that the metaverse and AI will go hand in hand, suggesting that the current hype might be underplaying the potential impact.

In this regard, Ripple’s President Monica Long said: “We are excited to continue to support the Futureverse vision and celebrate the Root Network’s integration with the XRP Ledger. While we’re at the earliest stages of what a project like this — and really the larger concept of the metaverse — can achieve, we at Ripple are thrilled to contribute to the foundational infrastructure layer and provide real utility to the end users of the open metaverse.”