Animoca Brands, Antler’s Ibex Japan Launch Web3 Fund to Take Anime & Manga IP Onchain
Animoca Brands and Antler’s Ibex Japan have launched a Web3 entertainment investment fund to bring Japan’s anime and manga IP onchain, announced at the WebX conference in Tokyo. Animoca co-founder Yat Siu, adviser Keyvan Peymani, and Ibex partner Sandeep Casi said the fund will license dormant Japanese IP—estimated at 90–99% unused—and create new Web3 products beyond gaming, including fintech, healthcare, and medtech. Backed by Antler’s $1.2B AUM and global network, the initiative aims to scale Japanese IP internationally. Casi and Peymani will serve as co-general partners, with initial targets to be revealed soon. Siu cited NFT market recovery, noting a 40% rise to $9.3B market cap in August, as the right timing for the effort.