- Amber Group extended its Series B funding as a special effort to bring Temasek around the investors' table
- The raised funds will support global expansion and grow its OpenVerse and WhaleFin products
According to a press release shared on Monday, leading digital asset platform, Amber Group confirmed that it had completed a $200 million Series B+ funding round led by Singapore-based investment firm Temasek Holdings. The raise also saw participation from other investors, including Tiger Global Management, Sequoia China, Coinbase Ventures, and Pantera Capital.
The round's completion at a $3 billion valuation represents three times as large as the valuation the firm reached in June 2021, the last time when capital was raised. It also brings the sum raised by Amber Group since its inception to $328 million.
While some of the participating investors are already shareholders at the company, CEO of Amber Group Michael Wu explained that the firm decided to expand the Series B funding to bring Temasek onto the table.
"They are very strategic, so we made this special effort to bring them in," Wu explained in an interview.
The goal for global reach stands
The initial Series B round that saw Amber Group become a unicorn in June last year gave a ten times greater pre-money valuation than the $28 million Series A round that was completed in 2019 did.
At the time, Amber Group said that it intended to boost global expansion to meet market demands and create solutions for the largest investors in crypto. The group still retains similar goals as per the recent press release.
Wu explained that the raised capital should fund expansion (hiring) in the European and American markets. These efforts represent the firm's attempt to meet institutional demand stemming from traditional financial bodies and family offices.
The finances will also help boost the position of its creator-focused venture arm, OpenVerse.
Additionally, the company has scheduled plans to grow its WhaleFin consumer app that launched late last year. The app epitomises a gateway into the new disposition of finance. All in all, the digital asset firm will still retain focus on its sustainability initiatives via partnerships with animal conservation bodies.
"We will cast our sights beyond business expansion and strategic acquisitions, too, as part of our commitment to building a sustainable future for all. We will continue to broaden our support of sustainability initiatives, with our recent partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) being only the start of this journey," said Wu.