Why we invested in Genopets, a move-to-earn NFT game
Games have the opportunity to drive mass adoption of web3 through fun and rewarding experiences in which non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the currency for blockchain gaming, provide players an opportunity to monetize the assets they obtain in-game.
To date, most NFT games have required a substantial financial investment to get started. But Genopets is changing things with the free-to-play model popularized in mobile gaming. Players can get started for free, with the option to pay to progress faster and unlock more features of the game.
A Genopet is a digital pet whose evolution and growth is guided by a player’s activity each day. These virtual pets are the web3 version of Tamagotchi and Pokemon. Genopets also is innovating by enabling gamers to earn crypto from both physical and virtual activity.
We invested in Genopets because it has developed an innovative gaming model at the intersection of web3 and connected fitness. Samsung Next participated with a post-seed round simple agreement for future tokens (SAFT). Our investment comes on the heels of an $8.3 million seed round led by Pantera Capital and Konvoy Ventures, with participation from Alameda Research, Solana Capital, Xoogler.co, Animoca Brands, GBV, Eniac Ventures, and other individual investors.
We think the company’s crypto-native founding team has the right combination of experience – including product design, development, and tokenomics – combined with the experience of launching products and growing web3 communities for the past five years.
Albert Chen, co-founder and CEO, is a serial entrepreneur with over 10 years of software development experience. Benjamin Tse, co-founder and Chief Product Officer, has over 15 years of experience creating products for global brands such as Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Starwood Hotels, and the United Nations. Jay Chang, the third co-founder, leads marketing, partnerships, and community. He brings over a decade of experience building and launching products for brands like Sony, Red Bull, and Google.
In order to gain a competitive advantage, players can purchase a Habitat, a piece of virtual real estate that can be used as a springboard for earning more in-game points, other types of crypto, and rental income. Players also can lease their Habitat to others.
Genopets also is tying the viability of its economy to building a marketplace, rather than just relying on player growth to drive new revenue. Success hinges on keeping players engaged and willing to evolve from the free tier to pay-to-play.
The company is off to a good start, with over 250,000 players on a waitlist for the game’s release this summer. Genopets promises to grow as users become emotionally attached to playing games with their virtual pets. Despite the recent crypto headwinds, we think Genopets offers a promising mix of fun and revenue potential.
Antonio Key is an Investor at Samsung Next. Samsung Next's investment strategy is limited to its own views and does not reflect the vision or strategy of any other Samsung business unit, including, but not limited, to Samsung Electronics.
