The Sandbox platform, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, together with the venture firm Brinc launched an accelerator for developers of metaverse projects. Promises to invest a total of $50 million in participants. That’s just for the participation itself, you have to pay — $ 50 thousand for each startup.
Recall that The Sandbox is a blockchain analogue of Roblox, which was developed by the Spanish Pixowl in 2012 (in 2018 it was bought by Animoca Brands, she also added a blockchain to the site). Users of The Sandbox can create and monetize their own games.
Now the owners of The Sandbox intend to expand their platform, for which they have opened an accelerator, which they called The Sandbox Metaverse Accelerator Program. They did it within the framework of another blockchain accelerator, Launchpad Luna from Brinc and Animoca Brands.
The acceleration program will be held completely online and will last three years. It is expected that up to 120 blockchain startups (30-40 per year) will take part in it in three main areas: esports and video games, music and entertainment, as well as art and collecting.
Requirements for participants:
- a startup should be headed by at least two people “with relevant experience” and a clear roadmap;
- the project should be done for The Sandbox platform;
- the created project should be scalable and have a high potential for development;
- it is advisable to follow the Proof-of-Stake protocol rather than Proof-of-Work;
- the participation fee is $50 thousand.
Note that the requirement to pay for entry into the program is strange — scammers usually ask for this. Nevertheless, it is important to point out that the organizers are not going to take this money from the “pockets” of the participants. As they explain, $50 thousand can be deducted from the amount that the creators of the accelerator plan to invest in each startup (also, money in any case will not be required until the investment is paid). The funds will be used to pay for operating expenses.
The organizers are going to invest up to $250 thousand in each startup. The best participants will be able to claim an additional $150 thousand in SAND and LAND tokens. In addition, in the future, The Sandbox intends to consider for investment those startups that will demonstrate success at the end of the accelerator.
The Sandbox did not provide a specific accelerator program. But the company promises the participants to provide marketing support and help with the development of projects. Among the mentors of the program will be representatives of The Sandbox, Brinc, Animoca Brands, Axie Infinity, Yield Guild Games and other companies.
Applications for the accelerator are accepted until February 27.
Recall that the concept of the metaverse has been actively gaining popularity over the past year. In particular, Meta (formerly Facebook) and Microsoft announced their ambitions in metaverse. Companies with Russian roots, for example, Azur Games and MYTONA, also announced similar plans. There are many supporters of NFT, which are often associated with the concept of the metaverse. However, despite the hype around these phenomena, many developers have an ambiguous attitude towards them. According to GDC, 70% of developers are not interested in NFT at all.