Why we Invested in the Petaverse Network

Fabric Ventures is thrilled to lead a $7m round in Petaverse Network, with participation including CMT Digital, Animoca, Sfermion, Dapper Labs, Spin Master, Fenbushi Capital, a41 Ventures, Fourth Revolution Capital, 6th Man Ventures, Ready Player DAO, Double Peak Group, Pirata Capital, Triangle Capital, Sterling VC along with angel investors including Kristian Segerstrale (Super Evil Megacorp), Sebastien Borget (The Sandbox), Nick Button-Brown, James Zhang (Concept Art House) and many others.

Pet-based games have had a long history of success, from Petz and Tamagotchi in the 90s to Nintendogs more recently. Gamers have flocked in their millions to nurture virtual pets. However, these pets have historically not held real value. The “owners” of these pets never truly owned them and so there was no secondary market (barring some rare physical Tamagotchis); these pets bore only expenditure for transitory entertainment and no material value. Furthermore owners could not be sure that their pet would survive beyond the software (and server) support provided by an individual games studio.

Susan, Lee, and the team at Petaverse Network bring decades of game development experience: co-founding 2K games (Bioshock, Borderlands, X-Com, Civilization), working at Rockstar (GTA), and more recently pushing the boundaries of mobile AR games with Wallace & Gromit and Doctor Who IP. Now, they are on a mission to build an interactive and engaging pet universe.

Petaverse Network are creating an Open Standard for pets with true digital ownership enabled by blockchains. Each pet’s characteristics and behaviour will be determined by their underlying, unique, DNA, which, as a web3 native game, will be stored on-chain. These pets can be transported across the metaverse; accessible on other chains and within other games. These games are able to take this data and represent it as they wish — your same pet will be with you, but it’s look can be modified to fit the environment it is currently in.

Their evident prowess in applying AR technologies to gaming will enable them to develop compelling AR games where players are able to feed, play, and train their unique, personalised pets (starting with cats). Training can change a pet’s characteristics, making our virtual companions as malleable and fickle as those in our off-chain lives!

Ultimately, the Petaverse represents a future extending far beyond just cats (or dogs) and into any kind of companion that is tied to our digital identity and follows us through virtual worlds (or the augmented real world — imagine walking down the street and watching your cat playing with your friend’s dragon!).

We are excited to work with Petaverse Network to create this Open Standard for pets, helping a whole new generation of gamers develop compelling and lasting bonds with their furry friends.

We back the boldest technologists & communities at the earliest stages, supporting them throughout their journey and becoming active participants within the networks they are building.

To learn more about Fabric Ventures, you can visit our website, follow us on Twitter and read our investment thesis.