Square Enix Involved in New Metaverse Funding Campaign

Metaverse monetization company V Corporation is raising funds alongside Square Enix Holdings and other Japanese companies. Other participants in this new metaverse funding campaign include Sony Startup Acceleration Program, Nippon Venture Capital (NVCC,) FGG Venture Business Partners, and Itochu Corporation. [Thanks, PR Times!]

General Manager of Investment and Business Development Department at Square Enix Holdings Hideaki Uehara complimented V Corporation, and expressed his thoughts on metaverses. In his message, Uehara says that virtual spaces have grown mainly through online video games, and he believes they will continue to grow and people will spend even more time in virtual worlds or metaverses as time goes by.

The total amount of funds raised reached approximately 240 million yen, or roughly $1.657 million. According to the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ global metaverse market scale transition and estimates, the metaverse market expanded 4.2 trillion yen (~$28.987 billion) in 2021 and predictions indicate that it will continue to expand to 78.8 trillion yen (~$543.601 billion) by 2030.

Square Enix has been making a push in the metaverse and NFT businesses since early 2022. The company has continued to invest in the market throughout 2023 and 2024 with its with its Symbiogenesis NFT project that started in late 2023 and that received a second season in June 2024. Additionally, FFXIV Producer Naoki Yoshida discussed the concept of the metaverse in May 2022 and gave his opinion on why he thinks they are not entertainment.