James Ho, managing partner of Animoca Brands, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2025 Powerlist.

James Ho leads Animoca Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, a blockchain gaming software company. Animoca Brands publishes a broad portfolio of games such as The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, as well as products based on popular intellectual properties such as Garfield and Thomas & Friends.

The venture unit makes early-stage investments in Web3, blockchain companies and startups in digital entertainment and gamification. It makes follow-on rounds throughout its portfolio companies’ stages of growth.

Since joining Animoca Group in 2018, Ho has made more than 100 investments in Web3 companies, including Yield Guild Games, Opensea, Magic Eden, Matic and Immutable X.

Animoca Ventures is regularly one of the most prolific CVCs and was among the most active corporate investors in 2024, according to Global Corporate Venturing research, especially at the seed and series A stages. The company backed more than 50 rounds at seed stage or earlier alone in 2024. The CVC’s $100m fund has invested in more than 140 companies in more than 20 countries.

Animoca Ventures also invests in larger rounds. The venture unit contributed to a $225m series A round for Monad, which is working on a faster version of the Ethereum blockchain, in early April last year. The company was also part of a $40m seed round for 0G Labs, developer of a decentralised operating system for AI, in November 2024.

Ho spent nearly a decade in the advertising sector before moving to Animoca Brands. His advertising career included a three-year stint in Hong Kong at global public relations and marketing consulting firm Edelman.

While working in the advertising industry, Ho founded several advertising-related companies. He created Poca Design, for example, an experiential design agency. He also co-founded Digital Vantage Media, a China-based advertising agency focused on video content. His first foray into entrepreneurialism came in 2006 when he launched i3Motion, a Hong Kong-based creative agency whose clients include Reebok, Microsoft and the Chinese Central Government.


The Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry. 

These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession. 

See the full 2025 Powerlist here.