Startup with WhatsApp and Amazon capabilities raises $28 millionDevelopers at startup OP3N have raised $28 million to create an app that will be the Web version of "WhatsApp and Amazon, or WeChat and Alibaba" for the Web3 industry. The artificial intelligence-based platform successfully completed a Series A funding round and was valued at $100 million, according to TechCrunch.
"I wanted to bring content creators, chat rooms and e-commerce together in one place," said OP3N CEO Jason Ma. He assures OP3N's chat-based product, Superapp, aims to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3 by incorporating blockchain and decentralized technology into interfaces. The app allows audio, video and mixed-media content to be added to interactions on the Web.
The funding round was led by Animoca Brands. Dragonfly Capital, SuperScrypt, Creative Artists Agency, Connect Ventures New Enterprise Associates, Republic Crypto, Avalanche's Blizzard Fund, Galaxy Digital and Warner Music Interactive also participated. GSR Markets, The Spartan Group, BRV Capital Management and NBA player Russell Westbrook also invested.
"These are all long-term investors and people who are here to stay and bring us strategic synergy," Ma said. "We're here to create a product that in two years will be the decentralized Facebook, YouTube, Spotify and WhatsApp."
The new capital will be used to further develop the app, Ma said. The product is currently in beta testing mode.
In 2021, OP3N successfully closed an initial $10 million funding round, with Goodwater Capital, Soma Capital, 500 Global, WhaleShark, Twitch co-founder Justin Kahn and The Sandbox co-founder Sébastien Borge.
