Web3 gaming studio Curio has successfully secured a $5.7 million seed funding round, led by Bain Capital Crypto and SevenX Ventures, with additional participation from OKX Ventures. This latest round brings Curio's total funding to $8.6 million, following a $2.9 million round announced in February 2023.
Curio is focused on developing on-chain gaming infrastructure to support the next generation of blockchain games. Initially an NFT platform, Curio previously collaborated with Universal Music Group to create NFTs for the record label and its artists.
The newly acquired capital will be used to accelerate the development of Curio's high-stakes, live poker-like Duper game show and to expand its core team. The game show is based on Curio’s flagship wagering strategy game, Duper, which recently launched its first season.
Curio co-founder Kevin Zhang emphasized the company's unique approach, stating, "While most crypto games attempt to imitate existing video games, we looked in another direction at classic board games and card games that are simple, infinitely re-playable, and integrate stakes with the game meaningfully."
Bain Capital Crypto partner Stephan Cohen added, "By focusing on emergent social dynamics and skill-based wagering, Curio combines the best elements of classic games like Poker and Mahjong with the immersive nature of video games."
Curio's innovative approach aims to redefine blockchain gaming by integrating traditional game mechanics with blockchain technology.