We are incredibly excited to share that Futureverse have closed their $54M Series A round led by 10T Holdings, with participation from Ripple, to scale their AI and metaverse technologies.

Futureverse was founded to empower developers and users to create and engage with interoperable content and applications previously unavailable within the metaverse. The company's technology platform includes a robust suite of proprietary AI content generation tools designed to enhance the music, objects, characters and animations that make up the metaverse. By rolling up 11 metaverse infrastructure and content companies into one collaborative ecosystem, Futureverse delivers the essential components for constructing any metaverse application, while forming one of the world's largest metaverse communities powered by digital collectibles. Futureverse has also become a leader in an entirely new frontier of AI gaming. In the past year, Futureverse has launched AI-powered consumer game "AI League" in cooperation with FIFA on iOS and Android and has partnered with ABG, IP Rights holders of the Muhammad Ali Enterprises, to release the first AI-powered boxing game, "Muhammad Ali - The Next Legends."

Futureverse will use the proceeds from the funding round to continue developing the company's comprehensive technology, including its Futureverse Platform featuring "Powered By Futureverse" tools and products and The Root Network, a blockchain and suite of protocols with ready-made runtimes for building next-generation metaverse apps, games and experiences. Futureverse's previously announced partnership with Ripple has The Root Network integrated with XRPL and supports the use of XRP as a GAS token as well as the XLS-20 NFT standard.

Metaverse pioneer Aaron McDonald, tech and entertainment investor/operator Shara Senderoff and seasoned technology and information security expert Marco Brondani co-founded Futureverse along with business operator Dan Gillespie.

"The metaverse has the potential to transform the way humans engage and collaborate with one another and improve our experiences across a number of different spheres, including gaming, payments, asset management, and more. In order to reach this potential, the metaverse requires open, scalable, and interoperable infrastructure," said Aaron McDonald and Shara Senderoff, Co-Founders of Futureverse.

They continue, "Futureverse combines next-level technological infrastructure and AI-driven content to create the open metaverse we all envision. With the help of our tremendous partners 10T and Ripple, we are excited to take the metaverse from an abstract idea to a tangible, accessible, and interactive destination."

Futureverse's Series A funding round continues the company's recent momentum. In April, the company announced a strategic partnership with blue-chip NFT collection Cool Cats, integrating Cool Cats' iconic brand with Futureverse's cutting-edge technology and bringing Cool Cats NFT holders into the Futureverse ecosystem.

In the last year, Futureverse has formed global strategic partnerships with renowned organizations including FIFA, Authentic Brands Group (ABG), Mastercard, Wimbledon, Death Row Records, Wētā Workshop, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Keanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant.

"Futureverse has developed an immersive and vertically-integrated metaverse platform that acts as an AI technology provider, metaverse infrastructure builder, layer 1 architect, creative studio, and digital community all-in-one," said Dan Tapiero, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of 10T. "We look forward to supporting Aaron and his experienced team as they continue to achieve significant real-world commercial traction and scale Futureverse's capabilities and offerings."

"We are excited to continue to support the Futureverse vision and celebrate the Root Network's integration with the XRP Ledger. While we're at the earliest stages of what a project like this — and really the larger concept of the metaverse — can achieve, we at Ripple are thrilled to contribute to the foundational infrastructure layer and provide real utility to the end users of the open metaverse," said Monica Long, President of Ripple.