Will Smith, The Weeknd Back NFT Metaverse Land Investor Everyrealm

By Andrew Hayward

Interest around the metaverse has exploded in recent months, and high-profile investors are now backing some of the rising builders in the space. Everyrealm is one such firm, and now the metaverse land investor/builder has expanded its list of celebrity backers.

Everyrealm—previously Republic Realm, before spinning out from Republic—revealed this week that investors such as musician The Weeknd, actor Will Smith (via his Dreamers VC), singer Marc Anthony, and German soccer player Mario Götze have invested in the firm in recent weeks.

The additions come following Everyrealm’s announcement last month of a $60 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto fund. That round also included such backers as Coinbase Ventures, NBA Top Shot maker Dapper Labs, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Animoca Brands.

Everyrealm confirmed to Decrypt that the aforementioned celebrity investors and others came on after the initial Series A news, expanding the final total for the round to $62.5 million. The firm didn’t provide a specific valuation, but said that the Series A values Everyrealm at “hundreds of millions” of dollars.

Other recent investors in the firm include NBA player Miye Oni, music producer Pro Logic, rapper/producer NAV, and entrepreneur Hannah Bronfman. Everyrealm credited Andreessen Horowitz’s Cultural Leadership Fund with facilitating introductions to The Weeknd, Smith’s Dreamers VC, and others.

Previously announced celebrity investors in Everyrealm include socialite and entrepreneur Paris Hilton, rappers Nas and Lil Baby, KISS rocker Gene Simmons, and film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg.

“Having such an accomplished roster of people on our cap table is an honor and a testament to the allure of the metaverse opportunity, one where artists and entertainers can foster direct connections with their communities,” Everyrealm CEO Janine Yorio said in a statement.

Everyrealm invests in virtual land plots sold as NFTs in growing metaverse worlds, such as The Sandbox and Decentraland. The firm holds more than 3,000 NFTs across 25 metaverse platforms, and has started developing housing and other locations on some of the spaces.

For example, Everyrealm’s Fantasy Islands resort project in The Sandbox includes more than 100 villas, as well as a yacht that sold for 149 ETH (nearly $650,000 at the time of sale).

Some $501 million worth of NFT virtual land was sold in 2021, per data from MetaMetric Solutions, and demand climbed significantly late in the year after Facebook announced its Meta parent company rebranding and ambitions in the metaverse.

The metaverse refers to a more immersive future version of the internet, wherein users will interact with 3D avatars as they work, play, and socialize. Many crypto firms and projects are building in the space, with NFT assets—land, avatars, and artwork among them—expected to be a big part of an interoperable metaverse spanning numerous spaces.

Some of Everyrealm’s celebrity investors are already immersed in the NFT space. The Weeknd (a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye), for example, joined NFT platform Autograph’s board of directors last year, and has released his own NFTs via multiple marketplaces. Hilton has also released various NFT projects and recently partnered with The Sandbox.

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