Sony Group Corp. has made another investment in Startale Group, deepening its involvement in the Soneium blockchain about a year after its mainnet launch.
In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph on Thursday, Startale revealed an additional $13 million investment from the Sony Innovation Fund. The funding round comes as Soneium transitioned from test network experiments to live operations, which allowed Sony to observe how the network performed in real-world conditions.
Data from public block explorer Soneium can be seen since the mainnet launched in January 2025, the network has processed approximately 524 million transactions. Nansen data for the same period can be seen Avalanche and Algorand recorded 442 million and 383 million transactions respectively. Transaction volume alone does not indicate user adoption or business activity.
The novel investment increases Sony’s exposure after seeing network activity post-launch, while maintaining a long-term approach to its blockchain strategy.
Investment decision influenced by post-launch performance
A Startale spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Sony’s decision was influenced by Soneium’s post-launch performance. This includes a transaction milestone and wallet count reaching 5.4 million.
“This ecosystem growth, combined with the strength of ongoing collaboration through Sony Block Solutions Labs, reflects the progress that underpins Sony’s continued investments,” a spokesperson told Cointelegraph.
A spokesman said the investment does not change Sony’s operational or management role and the partnership structure remains unchanged.
Startale also said that its Startale USD (USDSC) stablecoin is available on the Soneium mainnet. The token is built on the M0 platform and is intended to act as a native settlement layer between applications and payments on the network.
Startale declined to disclose details of the next round’s valuation, describing the investment as the first Series A closing.
Related: Cryptocurrency payments coming to PlayStation as Sony plans to launch stablecoin in 2026
From testnet experiment to live infrastructure
Sony and Startale first announced Soneium in August 2024 as Ethereum’s Layer 2 designed to attract developers across entertainment, gaming and consumer applications. On August 23, 2024, the project was considered Sony’s most direct move into blockchain infrastructure
The effort expanded a few days later with the launch of the Minato public testnet and the Soneium Spark developer incubator. On August 28, 2024, the incubator offered financing and support from Sony subsidiaries and Web3 partners, signaling a hands-on approach rather than a passive investment.
The Soneium mainnet launched in January 2025 and integrated non-fungible token (NFT)-based fan engagement tools related to Sony’s entertainment verticals. The January 14, 2025 premiere sparked mixed reactions after the network restricted some deals over alleged intellectual property (IP) infringements.
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