Key Takeaways
- • Line Next, the NFT unit of the SoftBank-Naver joint venture, secured $140 million in Series B funding led by Crescendo Equity Partners, a Peter Thiel-backed private equity firm with $1.4 billion in assets under management.
- • The funding round represents 2023's largest blockchain and Web3 investment in Asia, underscoring institutional capital's continued commitment to digital assets despite declining retail enthusiasm for NFTs.
- • Line Next plans to deploy capital toward launching a global NFT marketplace, developing a virtual avatar social app, and expanding Web3 gaming offerings—signaling a pivot beyond pure NFT speculation toward utility-driven applications.
- • The deal validates the SoftBank-Naver partnership structure (established in 2021 through A Holdings joint venture) as an effective vehicle for scaling Asian Web3 infrastructure amid global contraction in venture capital.
- • Crescendo Equity Partners' portfolio concentration in high-growth Asian technology sectors (semiconductor equipment, biotech, Web3) reflects institutional appetite for exposure to AI and digital transformation narratives across the region.
Summary
Line Next, the South Korea-based NFT and Web3 division of the joint venture between SoftBank and Naver, closed a $140 million Series B funding round on December 11, 2023, led by Crescendo Equity Partners. The investment consortium's lead investor is a Seoul-based private equity firm with over $1.4 billion in assets under management and backing from billionaire Peter Thiel. According to Line Next's formal statement, this funding round marks the largest blockchain and Web3 investment in Asia for 2023, a notable achievement given the contraction in venture capital across global technology sectors and waning retail interest in NFTs following the 2021-2022 speculative boom.
Line Next, established in 2021 during the peak of NFT market enthusiasm, is owned by LY Corp., a holding entity created following the October 2023 merger of Z Holdings with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Line Corp., the operator of the popular Line messaging application. The corporate structure traces back to A Holdings, the 2021 joint venture between Masayoshi Son's SoftBank and Lee Hae-jin's Naver that created the parent infrastructure for this Web3 expansion. Youngsu Ko, CEO of Line Next, emphasized the strategic timing of the capital raise, stating: "It is significant that we were able to secure this funding in the context of a globally contracting investment environment. We plan to use this opportunity to further popularize Web3 and develop a new service ecosystem where users own the value of their digital goods."
The company intends to deploy the $140 million toward three primary initiatives: launching a global NFT marketplace, introducing a virtual avatar social application, and developing Web3-native games. This allocation signals a strategic shift from speculative NFT trading toward infrastructure and utility-based Web3 applications. Crescendo Equity Partners' investment decision aligns with the firm's broader portfolio focus on high-growth Asian technology sectors; the firm's other notable investments include Hanmi Semiconductor, a semiconductor equipment manufacturer whose CEO became a billionaire in July 2023 amid heightened investor focus on AI infrastructure, and Medipost, a Korean biotech company. The participation of Thiel-backed capital in this round underscores the continued institutional engagement with Web3 infrastructure at a time when many retail-focused blockchain ventures have contracted significantly.
Line Next, established in 2021 during the peak of NFT market enthusiasm, is owned by LY Corp., a holding entity created following the October 2023 merger of Z Holdings with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Line Corp., the operator of the popular Line messaging application. The corporate structure traces back to A Holdings, the 2021 joint venture between Masayoshi Son's SoftBank and Lee Hae-jin's Naver that created the parent infrastructure for this Web3 expansion. Youngsu Ko, CEO of Line Next, emphasized the strategic timing of the capital raise, stating: "It is significant that we were able to secure this funding in the context of a globally contracting investment environment. We plan to use this opportunity to further popularize Web3 and develop a new service ecosystem where users own the value of their digital goods."
The company intends to deploy the $140 million toward three primary initiatives: launching a global NFT marketplace, introducing a virtual avatar social application, and developing Web3-native games. This allocation signals a strategic shift from speculative NFT trading toward infrastructure and utility-based Web3 applications. Crescendo Equity Partners' investment decision aligns with the firm's broader portfolio focus on high-growth Asian technology sectors; the firm's other notable investments include Hanmi Semiconductor, a semiconductor equipment manufacturer whose CEO became a billionaire in July 2023 amid heightened investor focus on AI infrastructure, and Medipost, a Korean biotech company. The participation of Thiel-backed capital in this round underscores the continued institutional engagement with Web3 infrastructure at a time when many retail-focused blockchain ventures have contracted significantly.
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