August 4, 2023

KDDI Corporation

On August 4, 2023, KDDI invested in Digital Entertainment Asset Pte.Ltd. (Headquarters: Singapore; Founder & CEO: Naohito Yoshida; Founder & Co-CEO: Kozo Yamada; hereinafter "DEA"), the issuer of the "DEAPcoin (DEP)" cryptocurrency and operator of the "PlayMining" GameFi [1] platform, through KDDI Open Innovation Fund III (operated by Global Brain Corporation; hereinafter "KOIF III"), which aims to incubate new business co-creations with promising venture startups.

DEA aims to create an economic sphere in which everyone can have fun and thrive through the issuance of "DEAPcoin (DEP)," a cryptocurrency that is the first Play-to-Earn [2] token circulated in Japan, and the provision of "PlayMining," a GameFi platform featuring multiple NFT games and an NFT marketplace.

Through this investment, KDDI will consider integrating the games in "PlayMining" with the "αU (Alpha-U)" metaverse and Web3 service, which aims to realize a world where anyone can be a creator, as well as jointly promoting "games that solve social issues," which DEA is pursuing.

As "the company that customers feel closest to," KDDI will continue to promote business co-creation through investment in promising startup companies, and create new business models together with customers and partners.

(Reference)

• ■ "PlayMining" GameFi platform

  Since its launch on May 26, 2020, DEA's "PlayMining" GameFi platform has amassed more than 2.7 million users in over 100 countries, as of July 2023.

  

• ■Overview of Digital Entertainment Asset Pte.Ltd.

  • (1)

    • Company name

      : Digital Entertainment Asset Pte.Ltd.

  • (2)

    • Headquarters

      : Singapore

  • (3)

    • Date founded

      : August 2018

  • (4)

    • Business activities

      : Issuance of DEAPcoin and operation of "PlayMining" GameFi platform

  • (5)

    • Representatives

      : Naohito Yoshida and Kozo Yamada

  • (6)

    • URL

      : https://dea.sg/

• ■About KDDI Open Innovation Fund

  KDDI Open Innovation Fund is a corporate venture fund that supports a broad range of venture companies. The currently active KDDI Open Innovation Fund III focuses on the areas of AI, IoT, data marketing, fintech, B2B SaaS, and entertainment with a total operating fund of 20 billion yen.

• [1]

  Coined word that combines "Game" and "Finance."
  Refers generally to NFT games in which users can earn crypto assets by playing games.

• [2]

  General term for the concept of service experiences in which users can acquire digital assets such as cryptocurrency and NFTs as a result of using services such as games, and also earn revenue by buying and selling such assets.