Catenaa, Tuesday, February 03, 2026– Sony Innovation Fund has invested $13 million in Singapore-based Startale Group, co-developer of the Soneium blockchain, marking the first investment of Startale’s Series A round.
The funding follows earlier seed rounds totaling $7 million from Sony, UOB Venture Management, and Samsung Next, bringing Startale’s total disclosed funding to $20 million.
Startale has partnered with Sony since the early development of Soneium, an Ethereum Layer 2 network built using Optimism’s OP Stack.
The blockchain supports entertainment industry applications, including audience engagement, IP licensing, AI integration, and general-purpose transactions via the USDSC stablecoin.
The Startale App acts as the entry point to the Soneium ecosystem.
Since launching its mainnet in January 2025, Soneium has processed over 500 million transactions, hosted 5.4 million active wallets, and supports more than 250 live decentralized applications.
Major partners such as LINE and SBI Holdings are exploring NFT mini apps and regulated tokenized equities trading on the network.
Startale also operates Japan’s largest public blockchain, Astar Network.
Sony Ventures CEO Kazuhito Hadano said the follow-on investment strengthens Startale’s global infrastructure capabilities and supports the firm’s goal of expanding on-chain solutions.
The Series A funding is expected to accelerate Soneium’s development, reinforce Sony’s blockchain initiatives, and broaden adoption across entertainment and financial applications worldwide.
The investment underscores a growing focus on Layer 2 blockchains that combine scalability, enterprise use cases, and cross-industry partnerships, positioning Startale as a key player in Japan’s blockchain ecosystem.
