Gusto Collective Raises US$11 Million in Seed Round

Hong Kong’s Gusto Collective announced the completion of their seed-plus financing round led by Animoca Brands and Gaw Capital. The successful funding round raised US$11 million in capital, which will support their expansion into Web3.

Hong Kong-based Gusto Collective Asia’s first BrandTech firm, has completed its seed plus funding round, procuring US$11 million in investments led by Animoca Brands and Gaw Capital. The capital raised will aid their geographic expansion into other regions in Asia, with the evolution of their immersive Web3 and Metaverse products and services, as well as product development.

The executive chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands, Yat Siu remarked on the company’s capabilities to build on its successful model, “Gusto Collective has already proven to be adept at partnering with customers for Web3 and augmented reality services. With Aaron leading a growing and world-class team, Gusto Collective has the opportunity to establish strong recurring-revenue products and client services.”

The oversubscribed round received participation from BlackPine, YCI Technology Limited, as well as pre-existing shareholders, namely ClearVue Partners. Taking account of the recent funding, the company has raised an accumulated US$23 million in external funding since launching in 2020.

Gusto Collective, a pioneering BrandTech company in Asia, was established in 2020 by Chairman and CEO Aaron Lau, envisioning a world-class solution for modern-day marketing, through the integration of their premium storytelling techniques and cutting-edge immersive technology. The 200-plus team of professional “Gustodians” specialises in various areas from Web3 marketing, an augmented reality (AR) experience, to a metahuman platform, and luxury marketing services. Catering to the diverse marketing, branding, and growth needs of their clientele, which include tech-enabled luxury liquor NFT platform BlockBar and NFT studio WEAR.

The company recently partnered with a leading wireless operator in Hong Kong, CSL, constructing a 5G augmented reality experience, via its proprietary AR application, in partnership with Phillips Auctioneers to create the world’s first real-time generative data art.

Gusto Collective Founder and CEO, Aaron Lau further elaborated on the framework for its expansion and growth in the market, saying “In the last 18 months, we have added Metaverse services onto our tech stack to help brands build relationships with their franchises in this new medium. With the new funding, we intend to move more aggressively into Web3 tech services and expand geographically to bring our BrandTech capabilities to other fast-growth geographies within Asia.”