OneRare, a metaverse platform, raised $2 million (Rs 14 crore) in a funding round led by blockchain venture firms Arkstream Capital, Momentum 6, StableNode, Exnetwork Capital, Enjinstarter, Everse Capital, Kangaroo Capital, Tag Ventures, Maven Capital, 1010 Capital, CSP DAO, Skyman Ventures, FF Ventures, ZBS Capital, and Lucid Blue Ventures, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The round also witnessed participation from Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX, Sebastien Borget, co-founder of Sandbox, Sandeep Nailwal, founder of Polygon, Ravindra Kumar, founder of Frontier, Edmond Truong, founder of Formation Fi, and Tamar Menteshashvili of Solana.
The fresh funds will be used for product development and marketing of non-fundable tokens (NFTs) exchanged for real-life meals, the statement said.
Founded by Supreet Raju and Gaurav Gupta in 2021, the blockchain metaverse will focus on mavens where they can farm for ingredients, trade them in the markets, or head to the kitchen to claim dishes. The Foodverse, which is part of OneRare's metaverse, also features a playground where users can use their NFTs to battle in minigames.
The project aims to create a global reach for the food and beverage (F&B) industry, partnering with celebrity chefs, restaurants and food brands. The firm said it is also planning to bring NFTs to life by allowing users to swap OneRare NFTs for meals and deals in real-world restaurants.
The company said it will be launching its OneRare (ORARE) Utility Token. This can be used to facilitate transactions in the farmer’s marketplace, gameplay in the playground, and access in-game upgrades, among others.
Over the past year, the growing popularity of NFTs in India has also been leading to startups in the space raising funds, in a bid to expand. Last week, NFT startup Lysto raised $3 million (Rs 22.25 crore) in seed capital from BEENEXT, Better Capital, Cloud Capital and other investors. Another NFT platform Hyy.pe in October raised $2 million in a funding round led by Elevation Capital.
