Metaverse hype Peaked in the first half of last year, but if the future internet does turn out to be a place where the masses are going to own digital property and establish businesses, then they’re going to need a property sales platform made for more than just speculative flipping.
Also, Redfin or Zillow for the emerging metaverse.
That’s what Metahood The startup is in the process of building, and just raised seed funding. Today, the startup announced that it had raised $3 million in a seed funding round. 1confirmation was leading the round, which also included participation from Flamingo DAO and Neon DAO.
Additionally, the startup was able to secure funding from prominent angel investors in this space, including The Sandbox co-founder Sébastien Borget, SuperRare John Crain was John’s co-founder. Sorare Brian O’Hagan as Growth Lead and Packy McCormick as VC/Blogger/Podcast Host.
Metahood’s platform is designed to deliver more context for metaverse land buyers than a general-purpose NFT marketplace. It shows available land plots in relation with others. This interface is map-driven and provides a view of the surrounding area or neighborhood.
“We really want to provide as much information and context as possible when you buy land,” founder Gwendall Esnault told Decrypt.
This is where the reality of metaverse remains. This vision is far too ambitious Web3 has many builders, both inside and outside the company. Decentraland The Sandbox is bland and sparsely populated. They have only released a few beta experiences. Otherside appears to still be in development. Meta’s Horizon Worlds It is far from the robust, final metaverse vision.
Would-be metaverse inhabitants may not need to weigh real-world considerations like school quality or walkability scores, but if you’re going to spend real money on digital property as an investment, or with plans to build out an experience, then you’ll want to know where you’re buying into. That’s a void Metahood aims to fill, one a broader marketplace like OpenSea doesn’t.
Metahood supports in-development metaverse worlds such as Decentraland, The Sandbox and the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s OthersideSomnium Space and. The platform will allow users to list their native NFT land plots as well as aggregate listings from markets like OpenSea or LooksRare. Layering adds context.
The platform will add metaverse worlds to its feature list as they become available. It also plans to develop a hub that Web3 users can use to find metaverse experiences. Esnault is a founder and CEO of the platform. He plans to use the funding for the expansion of the team and to improve the platform over time.
In some Web3 metaverse worlds, land plots are represented as NFTs—blockchain tokens that represent ownership of a unique item—that users can freely buy and sell. These plots are often used to create and distribute digital properties and experiences such as interactive games. They can also be rented or monetized in various ways.
The hype surrounding the metaverse skyrocketed in 2021, when Facebook was launched Meta was rebranded to it. It presented its vision for the immersive evolution of internet technology. Prices of Web3 land plots soared in the months that followed, and Yuga Labs’ Otherside land drop in April 2022 yielded Sales worth $561 million Within the first 24 hours.
However, prices and demand have declined sharply due to a cooling of crypto and NFT markets and wider doubts about the real value of the metaverse.
Esnault admitted that Decrypt that it was “not the best moment” to raise funding and roll out a metaverse-driven project, but said that it didn’t make sense to try and time the market, either. He sees value in an approachable marketplace that lets prospective land buyers get a sense of a virtual neighborhood as it’s taking shape.
Nick Tomaino, founder of 1confirmation and general partner, said Decrypt that his firm “loves to support good founders building in categories after the initial hype period,” and added that “that’s what Metahood is.”
Tomaino pointed to the notion of the metaverse being overhyped as a sign that “the trend is real,” even if some of the people jumping in weren’t there for the long haul.
“Metaverse hype is down a lot, no doubt, but the trend isn’t going anywhere,” he said. “Games and worlds are continuing to offer virtual real estate, and there’s a need for a marketplace that makes these assets more accessible.”