Hong Kong-based full-service Web3 company Artifact Labs has secured $3.25 million in a seed round. Separately, China’s Harvest Capital has held the final close of its second high-end manufacturing fund.
Artifact Labs raises $3.25m led by Blue Pool Capital
Artifact Labs has raised $3.25 million in a seed round led by Blue Pool Capital. The round also saw the participation of Animoca Ventures, the venture investment arm of blockchain gaming giant Animoca Brands, will help Artifact Labs expand its operations with a focus on recruiting technical professionals.
A spinoff from Alibaba-owned media group South China Morning Post (SCMP), Artifact Labs develops NFT collections for museums, galleries, and other heritage and preservation organisations.
The firm looks to build Web3 products and customised metaverse experiences to re-energise public engagement with historical brands and artifacts across all demographics, covering both existing fans and new fan bases, especially among digital-first generations.
“It’s not about creating new IPs for speculation — for example, NFT hype projects — it’s about driving new engagement with historically significant collections by using Web3,” said Phillip Pon, CEO of Artifact Labs, in a company statement.
Now a fully independent business, Artifact Labs has partnered with cultural organisations such as RMS Titanic Inc, the iconic Hong Kong G.O.D. brand, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. In April, the firm acquired Hong Kong-based Refinable Limited for an undisclosed sum to advance its Web3 product road map.
Harvest Capital closes manufacturing fund at $173m
China’s Harvest Capital on Tuesday announced that it has held the final close of its second high-end manufacturing fund at 1.2 billion yuan ($173.3 million).
The new fund, which reached its first close in June 2022, attracted capital commitments from China’s state-level government guidance funds, including SDIC Unity Capital and CICC Qiyuan National Rising Industry Entrepreneurship Investment Guiding Fund.
The country’s fund-of-funds (FOF) platforms, such as Xiamen C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment, Jinyuan Equity Investment Management, and China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Development Group, committed to the fund alongside Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor Corp and several regional government guidance funds.
The fund will focus on investments in China’s technology industry, particularly in segments like big data and information management solutions, automobiles, new energy, semiconductors, and electronic components, said Harvest Capital in a post on its WeChat official account.
In February, Harvest Capital invested in domestic automobile parts manufacturer Shanghai TOSUN Technology in a deal that was said to be worth “tens of millions of Chinese yuan”. Its portfolio companies include solar power maker KINGSOON and P.C.B.A Electronic, which provides electronic components for aerospace and national defence applications.