YAHAHA, the community focussed user-generated content (UGC) metaverse, has announced it has secured a Series A+ investment of $40m, as it prepares to take its platform to the next level. The new funding round was led by Temasek and Alibaba, and included investment from 37 Interactive Entertainment. The raise will be used to further grow the YAHAHA product, community, headcount and ecosystem.

Since launching in Early Alpha in April 2022, YAHAHA has seen over 100,000 creators flock to its platform on PC and macOS, with hundreds of thousands of players enjoying its UGC games on the mobile app.

Dual-Headquartered in Finland and Shanghai, YAHAHA was founded in 2020 by a talented group of Unity veterans. The platform is on a mission to democratize 3D content creation, helping creatives of all skill levels to make their own games, worlds and social spaces. YAHAHA has tools that make creating a game as easy as drag and drop, as well as extensive, easy-to-use, tutorials. This investment follows a previous Series A raise of $50 million, taking total funding secured by YAHAHA to almost $100 million in two years.

YAHAHA will use the newly sourced capital to further develop its product across all fronts. It will continue to support creators by offering them more tools and new functionalities, such as AI and cloud technology. Pathways for the introduction of creator monetization modules are currently underway, with more details to be announced soon. YAHAHA also plans to continue to grow its community of dedicated no-code creators through acceleration programmes, global community events, game jams and creator houses.

YAHAHA has over 150 employees, with offices in Helsinki, Seoul and Shanghai, with a global team. Following the new round of funding, it plans to extend its reach further, with new hires and new offices in local markets such as the US and APAC. Extending its ecosystem, YAHAHA has plans to collaborate with brands to bring new IPs into its metaverse. As well as this, it will announce new industry and studio partnerships, having already partnered with key figures in the 3D asset development space, such as Synty Studios, CGTrader and Dabeeo.

Chris Zhu, CEO at YAHAHA said: “We’ve seen fantastic growth in YAHAHA throughout the Early Alpha stage, and with over 100,000 creators signing up to make content with us, we are building on a strong foundation. This round of funding signifies the next step we are taking with YAHAHA - opening up more creator experiences monetization modules. We are also continuing to pioneer by investing in key areas of the community and by building relationships with brands that share our values, aligning ourselves with experts in the fields of game development, 3D asset creation and more.

“With YAHAHA, we’re not just ushering in the next generation of entertainment, we’re supporting the next generation of creators and giving them the tools and the integrated virtual world platform they need to make great content. There is a litany of opportunities that await us in the virtual world, and we want to be on the cutting edge of it with YAHAHA. To do this, it’s imperative we continue investing in our team and in the community that got us to where we are right now.”

YAHAHA was founded by Chris Zhu (CEO), Pengfei Zhang (COO) and Hao Min (CTO) to give creators the tools to unleash their creative talents on a new digital frontier.