UAE DMCC Crypto Center and TDEFI incubator offers $100 K to select startups with the launch of second cohort

UAE DMCC Crypto Center and TDEFI incubator offers $100 K to select startups with the launch of second cohort

UAE DMCC crypto center TDeFi , a global Web3 incubator and consultancy company,  have entered the final phase of registrations for the second cohort of a Web3 startup incubator at the DMCC Crypto Centre. Last day for applications is September 1st 2023. TDEFI will offer $100,000 for select startups with VC Funding. 

All applicants will receive priority guidance and services from DMCC to formally set up in the DMCC Crypto Centre, with a handful of successful businesses set to receive USD 100,000 in liquidity from TDeFi, subject to meeting the criteria. Applications close on 1st September 2023.

The five-week programme is focused on enhancing expertise including refining business strategies, ensuring Web3 compliance, and marketing. The accelerator will culminate in a VC-focused fundraising event, ultimately bringing a new wave of innovative Web3 businesses to Dubai.

Ahmad Hamza, Executive Director – Free Zone, DMCC, said, “Providing a platform for success is an intrinsic trait of DMCC, and the Web3 space is no different. Through our Crypto Centre we are proud to be bringing this exciting accelerator opportunity to a new wave of innovative Web3 businesses to Dubai, particularly as the emirate grows as a competitive knowledge-based economy. With the mentoring services and liquidity on offer through TDeFi, there has never been a better time to establish a crypto business in the emirate.”

Gaurav Dubey, CEO TDeFi, added,  “From ideation to developing business scaling strategies, our extensive accelerator programme is designed to prepare nascent Web3 businesses for VC funding rounds and operating efficiently in the real-world. We are excited to partner with DMCC for this second cohort, developing these startups into thriving businesses.”

The second cohort follows on from the successful first round in March, in which 15 Web3 businesses successfully graduated from the accelerator programme.

With an impressive lineup of over 20 mentorship sessions led by senior leaders from the Web3 industry, such as Coinbase Singapore, StepN, Footprint Analytics, Hacken, Enjin, and more, participants will gain insights spanning from compliance practices to the intricacies of Token Engineering and Markets Management. This comprehensive journey is poised to attract a fresh influx of Web3 enterprises to Dubai and guide nascent concepts toward thriving businesses under expert tutelage.

UAE DMCC Blockchain members of new gaming Centre to benefit from VC fund

UAE DMCC Blockchain members of new gaming Centre to benefit from VC fund

UAE DMCC, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, has launched the DMCC Gaming Centre in support of the increasingly growing global and regional video games industry. Members of the center who are developing blockchain games will be able to access $150 million funding from VC firm Brinc. Currently standing at USD 1.8 billion, revenues generated by the gaming industry in the MENA region are expected to reach USD 5 billion by 2025.

Launched during the Dubai Esports Festival, the DMCC Gaming Centre formalizes DMCC’s efforts in the gaming and esports space, creating a supportive environment in which all gaming and esports companies can thrive. DMCC is currently home to over 50 gaming companies, from game developers and producers to esports teams and tournament organizers.

The DMCC Gaming Centre will be based in DMCC’s free zone, providingaccess to a vibrant community of gaming industry peers to unlock new opportunities for collaboration. Gaming companies looking to expand their global reach and connect with audiences across the world will also benefit from DMCC’s fully digital setup process, world-class infrastructure, and commitment to increasing the ease of doing business.

 Under the DMCC Gaming Centre, members will have access to the wider esports community through regular events and esports tournaments and industry support from DMCC’s ecosystem partner YaLLa Esports, a leading esports organization in the UAE. Furthermore, members will have the opportunity to join gaming specific acceleration and market entry programs through our ecosystem partner, AstroLabs, a leading tech ecosystem builder in the MENA region. 

Earlier this year, DMCC partnered with the global VC firm Brinc to provide members with access to USD 150 million in funding through their accelerator programs ZK Advancer and The Sandbox Metaverse. Those programs will also be open to DMCC Gaming Centre members developing games on blockchain and web3 technologies.  

 “Gaming is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, with nearly 3.2 billion people playing and spending a combined total of USD 196.8 billion in 2022. The size and growth of the industry today is staggering compared to when video games first appeared in the 1970s,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC. “These passionate communities are constantly looking for greater immersion and storytelling in their chosen form of entertainment. As our roster of gaming companies expands rapidly and as we see more of our DMCC Crypto Centre members enter the blockchain gaming space, there is no better time to formalize our efforts by opening the DMCC Gaming Centre. Through this facility, we will solidify Dubai’s position as a global hub for all forms of gaming and esports.”

Prior to this announcement UAE Cypher Capital and Phoenix Group  invested with others into the new blockchain Web3 gaming platform, Fenix Games. Led by a group of industry veterans from gaming, blockchain, and financial markets, Fenix Games plans to acquire, invest, and publish both existing games and blockchain games of the future. Cypher Capital also invested $1.5 million in Rekt Studios which is also taking Web3 gaming to a new direction.

Fenix Games is a next-generation games publisher facilitating the transition of the next billion gamers into a blockchain-integrated future. Whereas traditional, “Web 2.0” games have mature distribution platforms and markets that bring billions of players and developers together, Web 3.0 lacks the infrastructure, tools and support to facilitate mass adoption. As more and more quality developers embrace blockchain technology and design principles, we see an opportunity for the role of Publishing to elevate its value in the design, go-to-market and operations of games.

At the time Munaf Ali, CEO at Phoenix stated, “Despite the recent challenges in crypto, Cypher Capital Group remains optimistic and bullish about the future of web3 and blockchain projects.”

UAE VC Funds among strategic investors in the $20 million round for Saudi and UAE Web3 metaverse company

UAE VC Funds among strategic investors in the $20 million round for Saudi and UAE Web3 metaverse company

UAE Dubai Future District Fund, e&Capital ( formerly known as etisalat group) as well as other well renowned VC funds have invested $20 million in Web3 metaverse social app content provider VUZ. The series B investment round included international investors such as Caruso Ventures, Vision Ventures VC Fund, SRMG , Panthera Capital, Faith Capital and Webit Investment network.

In addition to the new investors, VUZ formerly known as 360VUZ is backed by investors such as Knollwood Investment Advisory, AlTouq Group, Impact46, UAE Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Media Visions, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, DAI, Al Falaj, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin, DTEC Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, Al Rashid family and other strategic angel investors.

With this round, VUZ is now backed by a mix of investors based in the US and EMEA that will play a major role in supporting VUZ in its international expansion.

VUZ bridges the gap between the physical and virtual worlds to offer premium immersive content library in the world with more than 20,000 hours of immersive content covering entertainment, creators, and sports segments, and XR, VR, and AR experiences from virtually anywhere in the world. VUZ’s vision is bringing people together and connecting the world by providing authentic immersive experiences while removing the constraints of (TTA) Travel, Time, and Access to billions of people around the world.

Khaled Zaatarah, the founder of VUZ, stated,  “Our mission is to build a hyper connected product to teleport, empower, and entertain millions of users globally. We are very thankful to have some of the strongest international investors as part of our journey to build a global social immersive platform while leading the new technology revolution, accelerating the future of media and trends such as the Metaverse, and XR (AR and VR) while building strong sustainable growth.”

The funds will be used to fuel VUZ’s expansion plans in growing its core, accelerate the growth of 10% growth month over month in its recurring subscription revenue, investing in top content, hiring additional key senior hires, new social features, launching Web3 products, NFT projects to own and trade virtual assets derived from the metaverse and scaling with asset-light operations into 8 additional new international markets, following its partnership and integration with 45 Telecom Operators globally.

Zaatarah  adds, “Our plans for the future are 10X stronger than what we have been building for the past 6 years. We have built the base and now we are ready for sustainable scalability and growth at a scale-up stage. Special thanks to everyone that believed in us and to every member of our team.”

 The extended reality immersive platform VUZ reached over 1 Billion Screen Views and is aiming to reach 3 Billion Screen Views in 2023.

VUZ, an Endeavor global network company built a lean and scalable business model providing an important revenue mix, driving value as well as growth and has strong plans to scale its platform. Some of the mega plans for VUZ is building on its current IOS and Android social mobile applications are new features such as the video immersive live chatting, social in-app gifting, social commerce for creators, creators monetization and gamification plans, XR virtual technology, launching it’s SDK, scaling on the full ecosystem with META/Oculus and Qualcomm, Immersive Avatars, as well as launching its Web Platform that is expected to reach 2Bn Screen Views per year, and its Smart TV platform.

Kushal Shah, Head of Venture Capital, e& capital, commented “We are excited about investing in a tech company like VUZ that supports the creation of virtual content as well as enables futuristic immersive experiences. This is in line with our commitment to collaborate with visionary tech businesses that we believe will contribute to building a better and brighter digital future. We will continue to invest into the company’s success, partnering with them to help them achieve growth and enable meaningful progress that moves this digital world forward.”