Startup profile for Proof of Play: latest funding, latest known valuation, total disclosed funding, investors, status, sources, and why the company is interesting. Part of the Venture Capital Tracker startup directory.
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Proof of Play funding, valuation and investors

On-chain game studio behind Pirate Nation, founded by FarmVille co-creator.

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Funding, valuation & investors

Answer-first snapshot

Latest funding

Seed

$33M · 2023

Latest known valuation

Not publicly disclosed

Total disclosed equity funding

$33M

Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.

Current status

private

seed · San Francisco, California, USA

Investors in latest funding

Lead: Andreessen Horowitz

Sources: latest funding Last verified: 2026-07-25

Overview

Proof of Play develops blockchain-native games starting with Pirate Nation, a RPG with on-chain assets and progression. Founded by Amitt Mahajan (co-creator of FarmVille) and team, the studio raised $33M seed co-led by a16z crypto and Greenoaks in 2023. Emmett Shear (former Twitch CEO) joined the board. Games target sustainable on-chain economies vs speculative NFT drops.

Why Proof of Play is interesting

a16z crypto co-led $33M seed (2023) with Greenoaks for fully on-chain RPG — Amitt Mahajan (FarmVille) bets crypto enables player-owned economies at AAA craft.

Product & use cases

Pirate Nation is an RPG with on-chain characters, items, and combat — designed for composability and player ownership while maintaining game-first UX.

  • Player-owned in-game assets tradable on-chain
  • Crypto-native gaming with mainstream game design
  • Studios experimenting with on-chain progression persistence
  • Community governance of game economies

Key facts

  • Seed (2023): $33M co-led by a16z crypto and Greenoaks
  • Founder Amitt Mahajan co-created FarmVille
  • Emmett Shear joined board
  • Pirate Nation flagship on-chain RPG

Funding history (newest first)

Seed

2023 $33M

Source: https://www.theblock.co/post/240000/proof-of-play-seed

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from Proof of Play's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Andreessen Horowitz

Competitive landscape

Edge: FarmVille-scale game design pedigree rare in crypto gaming; a16z crypto + Greenoaks capital for long development.

On-chain gaming still seeking sustainable engagement beyond token speculation. Proof of Play bets veteran social game designers can ship fun first with chain as backend.

  • Immutable adjacent

    Web3 gaming infrastructure and titles.

  • Axie Infinity adjacent

    Prior play-to-earn model — cautionary tale for token economies.

  • Traditional mobile RPGs incumbent

    Better UX but no asset ownership.

Notable stories

  • Mahajan left traditional gaming to prove Zynga-era design skills translate to on-chain games where players own assets — high bar after Axie boom-bust.

Industries

Crypto & Web3 Media & Entertainment Consumer

FAQs about Proof of Play

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

Proof of Play is a game studio making on-chain games, starting with Pirate Nation RPG.
Amitt Mahajan, co-creator of FarmVille, founded Proof of Play.
Andreessen Horowitz (/fund/andreessen-horowitz) co-led the $33M seed with Greenoaks (not in VCT directory).
Proof of Play's on-chain RPG with player-owned characters and items.
$33M seed in 2023 per public reporting.
Axie pioneered play-to-earn; Proof of Play emphasizes game design and sustainable economies.
Check proofofplay.gg for current alpha/beta status.
Studio thesis: true asset ownership and interoperable economies — unproven at AAA scale.
Emmett Shear, former Twitch CEO, joined the board per 2023 press.
San Francisco Bay Area.
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By Venture Capital Tracker

Last updated:

Editorial note: AI tools assisted with research, structure, or drafting. Venture Capital Tracker retains human editorial responsibility for factual accuracy, relevance, and source quality before publication.