Sony Ventures, the investment arm of Japanese tech and electronics giant Sony, is deploying another $13 million in Startale Group, the co-developer of the Soneium blockchain, a year after its mainnet debut.
The “follow-on investment” made through the Sony Innovation Fund is part of Startale’s Series A funding round, announced on Thursday, and signals a longer-term infrastructure strategy between both companies.
Soneium is an Ethereum layer-2 built using Optimism’s OP Stack, developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs and Startale Group, designed for entertainment-related use cases, such as audience building, IP licensing, and AI integrations. The network uses the USDC stablecoin as a unified settlement layer for general-purpose activities. It incorporates Sony’s NFT-based Fan Marketing Platforms and Soneium Spark, which supports creators, developers, and fans.
Sony Doubles Down on Soneium Network a Year After Mainnet Debut
The funding round comes as Soneium moved from testnet experimentation into live operation. Singapore-based Startale previously secured a $3.5 million in seed capital from Sony in 2023 and an additional $3.5 million seed extension from UOB Venture Management and Samsung Next the following year. This latest investment brings the Web3 solutions provider’s lifetime funding to $20 million.
Startale Group is proud to announce a $13M follow-on investment from Sony Innovation Fund, reinforcing the long-term shared vision between @Sony and Startale to build infrastructure for onchain entertainment. pic.twitter.com/BNsHhUqxm7
— Startale 💿 (@StartaleGroup) January 29, 2026
Data from the public block explorer shows the blockchain has processed about 524 million transactions since its mainnet launch in January 2025. Over that same period, Avalanche and Algorand recorded 442 million and 383 million transactions, respectively. Sonieum also boasts 5.4 million active wallets and supports more than 250 live dApps. The network also struck partnerships with Sony Pictures, Sony Music, and Sony Music Publishing to grant fans access to exclusive NFT-based content.
Sony decided to increase its exposure after observing Soneium’s post-launch performance. A spokesperson for Startale Group said the investment does not change Sony’s operational or governance role, with the initial partnership structure remaining unchanged.
Sony Ventures Corporation CEO Kazuhito Hadano said,
“Through our ongoing collaboration around Soneium, we look forward to continuing to support Startale’s challenges and ambitions going forward,”
Startale Launches Super App, Stablecoin, And RWA Trading On Soneium
Last November, Startale Group and Sony Block Solutions Labs announced the ‘Startale App’ – a super-app designed as a gateway to the Soneium ecosystem. Soneium-native projects plan on issuing airdrops, rewards, and other exclusive experiences like token generation events (TGEs) through the super app.
The app uses account abstraction to remove seed phrases, enable gasless transactions, and simplify wallet management to promote increased on-chain activities. It also supports mini apps, allowing developers to create native applications without requiring separate sites.
Startale also said that its fully-backed U.S. dollar stablecoin, Startale USD (USDSC), is live on the Soneium mainnet. The token built on M0’s universal stablecoin platform is designed to maintain a 1:1 peg with the dollar and is backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries to ensure transparency and security. USDSC is set to function as a native settlement layer across applications and payments on Soneium.
In April 2025, Plume Network expanded its real-world asset (RWA) tokenization solution to Sonieum, offering users access to asset-backed yield products such as yield from tokenized U.S. Treasuries and private credit. Plume is a modular Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible L2 that specializes in tokenizing RWAs, and has over 18 million wallets on its testnet.
Last March, major messaging app LINE tapped Sonieum to integrate its mini-apps into the ecosystem, starting with four on-chain mini-games. At the time, both firms said in a statement that the partnership seeks to improve user experience and that LINE mini-app builders stand to benefit as it combines community development, strategic marketing, and IP collaboration. The first games to be published were Sleepagotchi LITE, Farm Frens, Moonveil: Puffy Match, and Pocket Mob.
In August, Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings announced a strategic joint venture with Startale Group to launch an on-chain trading platform for tokenized stocks and RWAs. However, it is unclear whether this platform will be live on Sonieum. According to a press release, the platform will leverage SBI’s financial ecosystem and Startale’s blockchain infrastructure to address the “critical gaps” in tokenized stock offerings. It is said to offer round-the-clock trading, faster cross-border settlements, and fractional ownership of tokenized assets.
