Line Next Corporation, a Web3 and blockchain-focused venture launched by Line Corporation in 2021, has announced raising $140 million from a consortium of investors led by private equity firm Crescendo Equity Partners.
The venture is comprised of two units, with Korea-based Line Next Corporation focusing on global NFT platform strategy and planning and the US-based Line Next Inc working on developing and operating an NFT platform business.
The fresh investment, which Line said is the largest funding round in the Asian blockchain Web3 industry this year, will be used to help introduce a new platform and services connecting Web3 and existing web features globally.
“We plan to use this opportunity to further popularise Web3 and develop a new service ecosystem where users own the value of their digital goods,” said Youngsu Ko, CEO of Line Next.
The plan is to launch DOSI, a global NFT platform, in January 2024. DOSI will offer a digital marketplace where digital products can be traded.
Additionally, Line Next aims to introduce a social app that allows users to communicate based on the characters they made utilising AI technology.
Line Next claims to have 5.5 million users worldwide and more than 470,000 cumulative transactions.
The lead investor, Peter Thiel-sponsored Crescendo Equity Partners, closed its third flagship fund at $910 million, exceeding the original target of $700 million, last year.
Crescendo was founded in 2012 to pursue investment in high-growth, mid-cap technology companies in South Korea. Its portfolio companies include Sangshin Electronics, pan-Asia logistics company Qxpress, marketing tech company Biginsight, and network security firm WINS, to name a few.