NFT-based Startup Cryptoys Raises $23M in Series A Led by a16z

Cryptoys, an NFT-based startup, announced it has raised $23 million in a Series A funding round led by a16z. 

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The company, which seeks to mix NFTs with the world of gaming and virtual toys, will create what it calls a "cryptoyverse," in which it will also implement play-to-earn features and issue its own tokens.

The Series A funding round, which raised $23 million, was led by a16z crypto, with the participation of other companies and firms including Mattel, Dapper Labs, Draper & Associates, Acrew Capital, Coinfund, Animoca Brands, and Sound Ventures.

The company will use these funds to further develop its own platform, dubbed "cryptoyverse", which aims to entice a younger crown to engage with NFTs and play-to-earn services on top of the Flow blockchain, the same tech used by Dapper Labs to deploy its well known NBA Top Shot app.

About the inclusion of younger users in this play-to-earn and gaming platform, Cryptoys' CEO Will Weinraub stated: "You have to take a step back from all of this Web3 maximalism. You've got to take baby steps to getting millions and millions of people to these new paradigms."

Arianna Simpson, a general partner of a16z, who also participated in the seed round of the company, stated: "The high caliber of creative and storytelling from the Cryptoys team is primed to delight and excite the next generation of consumers and collectors."