Soulbound, a Puerto Rico-based company, has successfully raised $4 million in funding to advance its innovative Web3 social gaming ecosystem. The funding round, which concluded in Q2 2024, saw participation from prominent gaming and blockchain communities, including iAngels, Animoca Brands, Big Brain Holdings, NGC Ventures, Panony, and Delta Blockchain Fund, among others.
The company, co-founded by Casey Grooms, plans to use the new investment to establish gaming partnerships, enhance social interactions, and expand streamer bounties and social questing on its platform. Since its inception, Soulbound has tripled its team, bringing in experts from engineering, business development, and community-building fields. The company is currently implementing Twitch livestream integration for Soulbound-partnered games while continually improving the user experience. Soulbound’s Token Generation Event (TGE) is anticipated to take place in the second half of 2024.
Soulbound’s mission is to “empower the new creator economy,” providing a novel way for gaming creators to earn a living. The platform, initially launched as Popdrip—focused on NFT sticker interactions—has evolved into Soulbound with the addition of game questing. Since its launch in March and April, Soulbound has integrated streaming and bounty programs, experiencing continuous growth in user engagement.
The platform, which serves as a bridge between Web2 and Web3 gaming, allows users to earn non-transferable DRIP tokens by engaging with partnered games and showcasing their gaming achievements. A new user interface and branding, with a focus on game streaming, will go live this month, further supporting the StreamFi movement. Soulbound combines elements of Twitch and Steam, offering community interactions through features like the “slapping” mechanism, where users can place stickers on others’ posts. This also introduces a new revenue stream for artists via the sticker marketplace.
One of the most anticipated features of Soulbound is the in-stream wager mechanism, allowing viewers to bet on a streamer’s in-game actions or other on-stream activities, blending elements of Polymarket and Twitch. Additionally, the platform’s bounty programs provide a straightforward, contract-free way for game studios to engage with users and generate user-generated content (UGC).
Soulbound has quickly expanded, onboarding two new games per week and hosting streaming activations with titles like Shrapnel and Echelon. These events have attracted over 200 players in competitive tournaments, with more than 10,000 minutes streamed.
“Gaming is no longer a solo experience,” said A.I. Mansbridge, CEO of Soulbound. “Soulbound is a bridge for traditional gamers, streamers, and game studios to the expansive blockchain gaming space.”
Echoing this sentiment, Grooms added, “Soulbound is building a social platform that shakes up the traditional community interaction model. With support from our investors, we will deliver a first-of-its-kind avant-garde social gaming experience.”
