Sky Mavis stands as a prime example of the remarkable breakthrough potential of Vietnamese tech startups in the global Web3 wave. Founded in 2018 by a young founding team, this startup quickly rose to become Vietnam’s fastest-growing tech unicorn, thanks to its flagship product, Axie Infinity—a blockchain-based game that once took the world by storm with its “Play-to-Earn” model.
From a technological standpoint, Axie Infinity is more than just a game; it represents the successful integration of blockchain and digital assets into the gaming experience. Unlike traditional games where players do not own in-game assets, Axie Infinity allows gamers full ownership and the ability to trade in-game items via NFTs. As a result, users can not only enjoy entertainment but also generate real income—something once considered far-fetched in the gaming world. This pivotal shift has positioned Sky Mavis not merely as a game publisher, but as a builder of a decentralized digital economy.
Furthermore, Sky Mavis’s growth has been reinforced by substantial financial investments and strategic partnerships. On the funding front, the company has raised over USD 311 million. For instance, in October 2021, Sky Mavis secured USD 152 million in a Series B round led by a16z, with participation from Accel and Paradigm. In April 2022, the company raised an additional USD 150 million in a Series C round led by Binance. These large-scale investments reflect the strong confidence top-tier venture capital firms have in Sky Mavis’s vision and execution capabilities.
In addition, strategic alliances with major technology players such as Google Cloud and Searce have helped enhance the company’s technical infrastructure, while collaborations with renowned game studios like ACT Games have enabled the integration of established gaming franchises into its blockchain ecosystem.
The leadership team at Sky Mavis consists of seasoned experts in blockchain, gaming, and finance, playing a crucial role in steering the company’s rapid global expansion. Their forward-thinking mindset and unwavering commitment to innovation continue to drive the growth of the decentralized digital economy, setting a new benchmark for tech startups in Vietnam and the region.
Compared to other solutions in the blockchain gaming space, Sky Mavis’s model demonstrates both autonomy and high scalability. While many blockchain games operate on existing platforms like Polygon or Solana—resulting in dependency and limited optimization—Sky Mavis’s decision to develop its own Ronin blockchain has allowed the company to control the entire value chain, from user experience to system scalability. This strategic move enabled them to handle millions of transactions per day at their peak, without causing network congestion or fee spikes.
As trends such as NFTs and decentralized finance (DeFi) continue to reshape multiple industries, Sky Mavis is well-positioned to expand its influence and pioneer the next generation of digital economies. Its combination of innovative thinking, core technology development, and ecosystem resource leverage has been key to its success—and offers valuable lessons for anyone venturing into the tech startup world. The company’s achievements not only highlight Vietnam’s potential for innovation but also pave the way for other Vietnamese startups to reach global markets.
