The Web3 company, known for its focus on NFTs and GameFi, has opened a new 28,000-square-foot office in Hong Kong’s tech city.
By Mayowa Adebajo
Edited by Julia Sakovich
Updated
3 mins read
The economic slowdown in mainland China has led many firms in Hong Kong to downsize, but Animoca Brands is not keen to follow the trend. While many of the affected firms are shrinking their office spaces in order to cut costs and cope with the reality of reduced demands, Animoca Brands would rather expand, CoinDesk reported.
The Web3 company, known for its focus on NFTs and GameFi, has opened a new 28,000-square-foot office in Hong Kong’s tech city. According to reports, the new office is so large that it might equal about 10 tennis courts. This means an over three times increase from its previous 7,500-square-foot office.
Explaining the decision to expand their workspace, Evan Auyang, the president of Animoca Brands, shared that now is the perfect opportunity to make this move. Auyang said:
“It’s a renter’s market right now in Hong Kong, and we saw this as the perfect time to create a collaborative space not just for us but for other companies in our portfolio.”
Meanwhile, Animoca’s journey so far has not been without issues. Like many other similar firms in the crypto sector, 2023 was particularly tough for the company. To stay in business and cope with the times, it carried out some layoffs and also significantly reduced its metaverse fund target. That is, from $2 billion to $800 million.
Despite these setbacks, Auyang insists that experimentation and failure are part of the company’s growth. He hinted that these difficult times also helped Animoca to improve its adaptability and risk-taking prowess. Animoca also talked about its unique leadership team. According to Auyang, the team is made up of executives who are mostly in their 40s and 50s. This sets it apart from other Web3 companies, who can not compare in terms of experience.
As Auyang says, the wealth of experience has been very helpful in helping Animoca get through the good and challenging times.
Interestingly, Animoca has another help in terms of the backing it gets from the Hong Kong government. This has helped its decision to stay back in the region. He specifically noted the time that the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau announced its support for Web3 with Animoca’s co-founder and executive chairman, Yat Siu, right there on the stage with the agency’s representative.
Despite considerations of relocation during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Animoca ultimately chose to stay in Hong Kong, with Auyang saying, “Hong Kong is part of our DNA”.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Mayowa is a crypto enthusiast/writer whose conversational character is quite evident in his style of writing. He strongly believes in the potential of digital assets and takes every opportunity to reiterate this. He's a reader, a researcher, an astute speaker, and also a budding entrepreneur. Away from crypto however, Mayowa's fancied distractions include soccer or discussing world politics.
