Quick take:
- LINE NEXT has raised $140 million from a consortium led by Peter Thiel-backed Crescendo.
- The firm aims to use the funds to expand its Web3 ecosystem globally.
- The first project to come out of the blocks is its global NFT platform DOSI, in January 2024.
LINE NEXT Corp, LINE’s venture arm dedicated to advancing the NFT ecosystem globally on Wednesday announced a $140 million fundraising led by Crescendo Equity Partners, the venture capital firm backed by Peter Thiel.
According to the announcement, LINE NEXT will use the funds to expand its global business and develop new services as part of its plan to popularize the Web3 ecosystem. First up will be the official launch of the DOSI NFT Platform, targeted for January 2024.
DOSI is the company’s global NFT marketplace offered through a mobile app and will be integrated with the Japanese version, LINE NFT.
LINE NEXT is also planning to launch a range of solutions that will help services and brands, enabling them to easily integrate Web3 elements into their businesses.
“With this investment, LINE NEXT also plans to introduce new services to further accelerate Web3 popularization. These include introducing a social app that allows users to communicate based on the characters they made utilizing AI technology and launching new Web3 games utilizing BROWN & FRIENDS characters that anyone can enjoy,” LINE NEXT wrote in a statement.
In July 2023, LINE NEXT announced a memorandum of understanding with Japanese gaming and entertainment giant Sega to build a new Web3 game for Game DOSI, the firm’s NFT gaming franchise.
The company’s Web3 initiative will be built on the public blockchain Finschia, with LINE NEXT and Crescendo joining the Finschia Foundation as governance members.
Commenting on his company’s leading role in the fundraising, Kevin Lee, the managing partner of Crescendo said: “LINE’s global competitiveness and its vision to lead Web3 services were the investment thesis. We hope to build a standard for Web3 apps that general users can easily use and adopt blockchain to all sorts of services and brands of Web2.”
On the other hand, Youngsu Ko, CEO of LINE NEXT commented: It is significant that we were able to secure this funding in the context of a globally contracting investment environment. We plan to use this opportunity to further popularize Web3 and develop a new service ecosystem where users own the value of their digital goods.”
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