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Parallel Studios Secures $35 Million in Fresh Funding
Parallel Studios, the innovative startup responsible for the Ethereum NFT card-battler game Parallel, made a significant announcement on Wednesday, revealing that it had successfully raised $35 million from a variety of major firms and prominent angel investors within the crypto space. Notable entities participating in this funding round include investment management giant VanEck, Solana Ventures, the Base Ecosystem Fund, Collab + Currency, and The Spartan Group. The list of angel investors features Solana co-founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, Pudgy Penguins owner and CEO Luca Netz, and Yield Guild Games co-founder Gabby Dizon, among others.
Back in 2021, Parallel Studios had previously received $50 million in funding from Paradigm, at a valuation of $500 million. While an updated valuation for the company has not been disclosed, the specifics of the latest funding round remain undisclosed as well.
Future Plans and Utilization of Funds
Despite the lack of specific figures, Parallel Studios shared insights with industry insights provider decrypt.co on how they intend to utilize the $35 million influx. The studio revealed plans for furthering the development of not only Parallel—hailed as the game of the year in 2023 by decrypt.co—but also the AI-powered Colony game, currently under construction on the Solana blockchain.
Parallel Studios recent expansion also marks the launch of its free-to-play beta, open to the public. The studio has expressed ambitions to significantly increase user engagement by expanding its Parallel Ambassadors program and engaging with influencers through various marketing channels worldwide. Moreover, the team has outlined upcoming initiatives, including releases on the Epic Games Store and Steam platforms, as well as the introduction of the Planetfall expansion within the game. Mobile versions are also part of the roadmap, although specific timelines are yet to be finalized.
Colony: An Ambitious New Frontier
In parallel with ongoing developments in Parallel, the studio has unveiled Colony, an AI-powered “survival simulation” game anchored on the Solana blockchain. Unlike Parallel, which operates on Ethereum, Colony leverages Solana and the scaling network Base. The recent release of an extensive whitepaper detailing Colony has generated significant interest, attracting backing from Solana Ventures and the network’s co-founders.
Parallel Studios aims to roll out a public beta version of Colony by the end of the year, aligning with the timeline stipulated in the whitepaper. The financing secured will also drive progress on Wayfinder, an on-chain AI protocol pivotal to powering Colony and potential future applications. Wayfinder, as defined in the whitepaper, acts as a novel tool enabling user-owned autonomous AI agents to navigate securely and efficiently within blockchain ecosystems, transacting assets via dedicated Web3 wallets.
Parallel Studios plans to bolster Colony’s development by initiating additional testing phases starting this summer. The studio is actively expanding its team dedicated to the Colony project, illustrating a commitment to rapid progress and innovation within the space.
Upon the announcement of the funding, PRIME, the Ethereum-based token utilized in Parallel that will soon bridge to Solana for Colony, observed a 12% surge in value, reaching approximately $23.30. Over the last 30 days, PRIME has surged by 63%, recently surpassing an all-time high of $28.00 post the Colony reveal on March 18.
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