Limitless, the company behind the Next Earth metaverse platform, is offering so-called Metaverse-as-a-Service solutions and plans to roll out a $60 million venture fund that it will use to build out the virtual globe it created using 5 trillion tiles and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that allow users to own pieces of that world.
Next Earth has more than 300,000 virtual landowners on its platform and has generated more than $10 million in revenue since it launched in July, according to a CoinDesk report Thursday (April 21). Meanwhile, The Sandbox added its 2 millionth registered user last month, the report noted.
Limitless will feature a venture fund arm named Limitless Capital that is pushing to raise $60 million to invest in startups interested in joining Next Earth, per the report, while Limitless Network will launch an application programming interface (API) suite later this year to onboard companies into Next Earth.
The umbrella firm could also farm out its backend metaverse technology to large companies looking to build independent metaverses, the report said.
“I think that most metaverse [projects] are just trying to recreate ‘Second Life,’” Limitless co-CEO David Taylor told CoinDesk in an interview. “Instead of doing that, we’re going to create a middleware layer for the metaverse. Through our API connections, any business small or large can connect to Next Earth.”
The report noted that Limitless launched its own utility token, NXTT, in late January, and the virtual coin has a self-reported market cap of $181 million, according to CoinMarketCap.
Meanwhile, the NBA is expanding beyond its Top Shots Partnership with sports-focused NFT developer Dapper Labs to create NBAxNFT, which is currently offering playoff-themed promotions.
Related: NFT-Trailblazing NBA Looks to Lure Basketball Fans Into the Metaverse
The NBA also filed several new trademark applications under The Association banner, covering everything from NFT tickets to collectables to virtual jerseys.
Top Shots are still among the best-selling NFTs and a top 10 line, according to DappRadar, which recorded more than 16 million sales and resales of Top Shots NFTs, which generated $885 million at an average price of $55.