ZKsync-powered gaming L2 from iCandy raises $4 million in private funding

A ZKsync-powered gaming-focused layer 2 blockchain called ZKcandy announced today the closure of a $4 million private funding round, with investors including Wemix Pte. Ltd., Animoca Ventures, Spartan Group, Perlone Capital, Presto Labs, Flowdesk, Prometheuz, Lecca Ventures, and Efficient Frontier.

Angel investors and early contributors from Stacks, Analog, Mittaria, Xangle and Trading Strategies also participated, according to a blog post.

ZKcandy is developed and operated by iCandy. Lemon Sky Studios — which has contributed to major AAA titles like Rise of the Ronin, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Spider-Man 2, Baldur's Gate 3 and Final Fantasy XVI — is a subsidiary of iCandy.

The project claims the funds will be used to build a Telegram-based EVM gaming ecosystem, work with intellectual property holders, expand its network of partners, develop AI agents for gaming, and prepare for a mainnet launch in the first half of this year.

ZKcandy CEO Lau Kin Wai said that the funding round "is a big step" for the team and that it will help the project toward its goal of making web3 gaming more accessible to a wider audience. The project claims to have "more than 25 game titles in various stages of going live."