Led by Protocol Labs, Archetype and Collab+Currency
Mona, the premier 3D world-building platform and web3 social network for the metaverse, announced today the closure of its Series A Funding Round.
The oversubscribed round was co-led by Protocol Labs, Archetype, and Collab+Currency. Other investors include Placeholder, OpenSea Ventures, Polygon Studios, ConsenSys Mesh, Venture Reality Fund, and other crypto-native funds and angel investors.
Mona provides the first and only platform and network for creators to build, mint, and sell interactive metaverse worlds as NFTs. The world-building platform is free for anyone to create and access via their web browser, and creators can mint their metaverse worlds on Ethereum or Polygon. Creators are already using Mona to build and showcase photorealistic works of architecture, mesmerizing art, dynamic 3D gardens, immersive POAP scavenger hunts, unforgettable virtual events and concerts, and mysterious escape rooms.
The metaverse refers to an interconnected network of virtual worlds where individuals can interact with each other online. While many companies aim to capitalize on the metaverse by selling land, real estate, and other virtual assets, Mona is dedicated to creating an open metaverse that does not require a purchase to enter or use. The Mona team has been building in public since day one, and their platform allows collectors to invest directly in the creators of experiential virtual worlds. This allows creators to develop their art freely and make a living by building in the metaverse without facing financial limitations.
“Our mission at Mona is to make the metaverse a social network where creators can thrive. A place to build worlds, not walls,” said Justin Melillo, Mona CEO and co-founder. “With the closing of this round, we will continue to grow our global, vibrant community of builders as we onboard thousands of new creators to the open metaverse and web3. The metaverse doesn’t have to belong to big tech companies - it can, and will, be a place for everyone.”
“Mona is building the tools, systems, and protocols to grow the open metaverse,” said Juan Benet, Founder and CEO of Protocol Labs. “We are proud to support their innovative work as they develop the infrastructure for creators and developers to build and own the open metaverse. We will all spend countless hours inside of the high quality virtual experiences hosted on Mona.”
Ash Egan, Founder of Archetype, said: “The Mona team is leveling up metaverse experiences, and pioneering a new distribution outlet for web3 creators. We’re excited to support the Monaverse capture metaverse mindshare around the world.”
“Mona’s vision for the metaverse – a real-time 3D social network experienced synchronously with others – innovates on the legacy design space of previous blockchain-based digital environments. It is a zero to one upgrade for digital environment creators and participants, powered by Mona’s open standards and powerful tokenization tools,” said Derek Edward Schloss of Collab+Currency. “Mona’s metaverse has the potential to alter how society, culture, and economics weave together in a new digital paradigm.”
Mona’s lead investors were Protocol Labs, led by Juan Benet; Archetype, led by Ash Egan; and Collab + Currency, led by Derek Edws and Stephen McKeon.
Other investors in the Series A round include Placeholder, Rogue Capital, Synergis, a_capital, Palm Tree Crew Crypto, Venture Reality Fund, SV Angel, Fourth Revolution Capital, OpenSea Ventures, Polygon Studios, LongHash Ventures, Taavet+Sten, ConsenSys, Big Brain Holdings, Everyrealm, Ready Player DAO, POAP Ventures, Gaingels, and The Grey Trust. Angel investors include Gmoney, Rahilla Zafar, Conlan Rios, Miles Anthony, and Dennison Bertram.
About Mona
Mona is the premier 3D world-building platform and Web3 social network for the metaverse. Built for creators by creators, Mona offers gorgeous resolution and unparalleled performance for truly visionary Web3 worlds. More than 4,500 builders are already using Mona to design and mint online worlds, launch immersive exhibitions, host electrifying concerts, and more. Mona was co-founded by Justin Melillo and Matthew Hoerl.
Mona's mission is to empower millions of people to create, collect, and explore high quality 3D experiences on the blockchain. Mona is creating a metaverse that belongs to everyone, which is why anyone can create and sell in the Monaverse - no land purchases, no limits. Help us build the open metaverse at monaverse.com.
About Protocol Labs
Protocol Labs is an open-source research, development, and deployment laboratory. Our projects include IPFS, Filecoin, libp2p, and many more. We aim to make human existence orders of magnitude better through technology. We are a fully distributed company. Our team of more than 100 members works remotely and in the open to improve the internet — humanity’s most important technology — as we explore new advances in computing and related fields.
About Archetype
Archetype is an early-stage venture firm focused on backing the next generation of crypto founders and accelerating the decentralized future. Archetype provides inception capital for founders that will evolve the status quo, entrepreneurs capable of creating entirely new markets, and those maniacally dedicated to their craft regardless of macro inertia.
About Collab+ Currency
Collab+Currency backs early-stage projects building the next generation of financial infrastructure, culture, and human organization. They invest in both equity and tokens across the globe. Collab+Currency’s portfolio companies include leading startups and scaleups across DeFi, NFTs, Layer 1, and more.
