Coinbase Alumni Secure $21M for Web3 Gaming Startup NPC Labs

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As a seasoned crypto investor and avid gamer with a background in blockchain technology, I’m thrilled to hear about NPC Labs’ recent funding success and their mission to increase the adoption of on-chain gaming through their platform B3.fun. Having closely followed the developments in the web3 gaming space, I can relate to Daryl Xu’s belief that there is a vast potential for actual people to engage in gaming beyond mere speculation.

Three ex-employees of Coinbase have successfully raised a total of $21 million through pre-seed and seed financing rounds for NPC Labs, their infrastructure startup specializing in web-3 gaming.

NPC Labs has secured a total investment of $21 million across different funding rounds. A recent pre-seed round brought in $3 million, while the seed round led by undisclosed leaders garnered $18 million. Notable investors in these rounds include Makers Fund, Hashed, Collab+Currency, Sfermion, Mirana Ventures, Bitscale Capital, and Mantle EcoFund.

I became part of NPC Labs team back in April this year. By early July, we successfully completed our funding round. My role is that of a co-founder and CEO, with the mission to boost the adoption of on-chain gaming alongside my talented colleagues Viktoriya Hying and Sean Geng.

Xu, previously working as the gaming and onramp lead at Coinbase’s Layer 2 project Base, is convinced that people can truly participate in gaming experiences rather than just speculating about it.

NPC Labs aims to boost the adoption of on-chain gaming via B3.fun, an innovative gaming scaling solution developed by Base. This description from Base refers to B3.fun as a “microservices-style Layer 3 platform” that facilitates almost fee-free transactions and impressive transaction processing speeds.

Through the collaboration with ChainSafe, Chain abstraction technology has been developed, enabling users to engage in gaming activities without having to switch or connect different networks. The ultimate goal is to establish a persistent on-chain gaming ecosystem, where developers benefit from top-tier technology and players enjoy a seamless and hassle-free onboarding process.

Creators of web-based games are increasingly recognizing the potential benefits of on-chain gaming for monetization and distribution. However, setting up on-chain gaming remains a challenge.

B3.fun aims to simplify the game creation process for developers by providing a comprehensive platform. This includes managing infrastructure, handling marketing, and facilitating distribution. In doing so, developers can focus their energy and creativity on producing engaging and exciting games.

The B3.fun platform is currently in its testing stage, enabling games based on Ethereum, Base, and other similar blockchains that use the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Future intentions include adding Solana to this list. The official release onto the mainnet, as well as any potential debut of a B3 token, will be communicated by both B3 and its overseeing organization.

Franklin Bi of Pantera Capital is thrilled about collaborating with NPC Labs. He believes that NPC Labs’ advanced infrastructure will significantly enhance the Base ecosystem by providing more resources for developers. In turn, this will lead to improved development capabilities. Based in the United States, NPC Labs intends to grow its team from five to ten members, filling new positions in engineering, marketing, and global market expansion.

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2024-07-22 17:56