Metamall, the virtual reality start-up serving as a primary centre for crypto enthusiasts, has raised USD 4.6 million (about Rs 35 crore) in its pre-IDO funding round through token sales from a clutch of investors.

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The Gurugram-based start-up is a decentralised metaverse mall that had earlier raised over USD 1 million through NFT (non-fungible tokens) real estate sales.

An initial dex offering (IDO) is a new type of decentralised and permissionless crowdfunding platform opening up a new way of fundraising in the crypto space. If a project is launching an IDO, it means the project is launching a coin or token via a decentralised liquidity exchange.

The deep tech start-up provides a virtual reality experience on the blockchain for its users to build, explore, and trade in their very own virtual malls.

The latest funding round saw participation from many new-age investors such as 316VC, CSPDAO, MarsVC, WLI Capital, BullPerks, HVS Ventures, and CCK Ventures, among others, it said.

Metamall has sold USD 1 million worth of land on the metaverse earlier. 

The sale was out of the USD 2.5 million worth of land available on pre-sales and was completed in just three days, it said.

Launched earlier this year, Metamall is based on the deep retail, technology and business scaling experience of the co-founder Serge Gianchandani, who is a serial entrepreneur with 12 patents on 3D and VR imagery.

Gianchandani said the fund will be used to scale up tech and marketing teams and work with leading tech platforms and designers to deliver more innovative and engaging metaverse for retail and gaming experiences.

Metamall combines virtual reality, blockchain and NFT technology to create a virtual skyscraper shopping mall and sell NFTs to buyers and is built on the Solana blockchain network. It features a native token mall for users to buy virtual real estate and earn money by leasing, staking, advertising and developing the real estate based on choice.

Metamall is a virtual reality shopping, lifestyle and experience zone that converts everyday tasks like shopping, socialising, and business interactions into an immersive experience powered by VR technology. 

It features separate zones for commercial properties to set up, shops, showrooms and business interactions, while experience and lifestyle experiences like casinos, clubs, VR games and diners and NFT art galleries, etc.

It allows the owners to buy the virtual properties through mall tokens and collaborate with VR developers to build unique realty ventures like shops, food courts, arcades, marketplaces and anything else they can imagine. 

The owners can lease out the owned property within the Metamall universe to earn consistent revenue, he said.