Sony Group Corp. made a follow-on investment in Startale Group, deepening its involvement in the Soneium blockchain about a year after the network’s mainnet launch.
In a Thursday announcement sent to Cointelegraph, Startale disclosed an additional investment of $13 million from the Sony Innovation Fund. The funding round came after Soneium moved from testnet experimentation into live operation, allowing Sony to observe how the network performed under real-world conditions.
Data from Soneium’s public block explorer shows the network has processed about 524 million transactions since its mainnet launch in January 2025. Over the same period, Nansen data shows Avalanche and Algorand recorded 442 million and 383 million transactions, respectively. Transaction counts alone do not indicate user adoption or economic activity.
The new investment increases Sony’s exposure after observing post-launch network activity, 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 informed by Soneium’s post-launch performance. This includes the transaction milestone and the number of wallets reaching 5.4 million.
“This ecosystem growth, combined with the strength of the ongoing collaboration through Sony Block Solutions Labs, reflects the progress that underpins Sony’s continued investment,” the spokesperson told Cointelegraph.
The spokesperson said the investment does not change Sony’s operational or governance role and that the partnership structure remains unchanged.
Startale also said its Startale USD (USDSC) stablecoin is live on Soneium’s mainnet. The token is built on M0’s platform and is designed to function as a native settlement layer across applications and payments on the network.
Startale declined to disclose valuation details for the follow-on round, describing the investment as the first close of its Series A.
Related: Crypto payments coming to PlayStation as Sony plans stablecoin launch in 2026
From testnet experiment to live infrastructure
Sony and Startale first announced Soneium in August 2024 as an Ethereum layer 2 designed to attract developers across entertainment, gaming and consumer applications. On Aug. 23, 2024, the project was positioned as Sony’s most direct move into blockchain infrastructure
The effort expanded days later with the launch of the Minato public testnet and the Soneium Spark developer incubator. On Aug. 28, 2024, the incubator offered funding and support from Sony subsidiaries and Web3 partners, signaling a hands-on approach rather than a passive investment.
Soneium’s mainnet went live in January 2025, integrating non-fungible token (NFT)-based fan engagement tools tied to Sony’s entertainment businesses. On Jan. 14, 2025, the launch drew mixed reactions after the network restricted certain contracts over alleged intellectual property (IP) violations.
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