Startale Group Secures ¥2 Billion Series A Investment from Sony Innovation Fund to Accelerate Vertical Integration of Soneium Blockchain Ecosystem
Startale Group has announced the successful first close of its Series A funding round, securing approximately JPY 2bn in additional capital from the Sony Innovation Fund. This latest injection underscores a deepening strategic alliance between the web3 infrastructure firm and the Japanese conglomerate, aimed at establishing a robust global infrastructure where entertainment, intellectual property (IP), and artificial intelligence intersect.
This Series A financing builds upon a foundational partnership established during Startale’s seed round in September 2023, which saw an initial ¥500 million investment from Sony. Since then, the collaboration has expanded significantly, most notably through the formation of Sony Block Solutions Labs (SBSL), a joint venture developing "Soneium," an Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain.
Operational Milestones and Vertical Strategy
The capital will be deployed to advance Startale's "vertical integration approach" to on-chain infrastructure. This strategy creates a unified ecosystem spanning the underlying blockchain network, asset management tools, and end-user applications.
The investment follows the successful mainnet launch of Soneium in January 2025. In the year since its deployment, the network has reportedly processed over 500 million transactions and onboarded 5.4 million active wallets, hosting more than 250 decentralized applications (dApps). To further capture value within this ecosystem, Startale has introduced the "Startale App," a super-app for wallet and asset management, and "Startale USD (USDSC)," a stablecoin designed for the Soneium environment.
Executive Commentary
Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale Group, highlighted the continuity of the partnership. "Startale has been a key partner to Sony since the inception of Soneium," Watanabe stated. "Our vision is to 'Bring the world onchain,' and Sony's continued support is vital as we build the global infrastructure necessary to achieve that vision."
Kazuhito Hatano, President of Sony Ventures Corporation, emphasized the strategic logic behind the investment. "Startale is vertically integrating the blockchain sector, from infrastructure to applications," Hatano noted. "They possess a global perspective and are working as a unified team to create new flows of value based on on-chain technology. We look forward to continuing our support of their challenges, with the Soneium collaboration as a central axis."
About the Entities
Startale Group creates web3 infrastructure and describes itself as a global fintech company originating from Japan. Beyond its joint venture with Sony, the firm is collaborating with SBI Holdings to build trading platforms for tokenized assets.
Sony Ventures Corporation manages the Sony Innovation Fund (SIF), targeting high-growth startups that align with Sony Group’s focus areas, including entertainment and technology, while emphasizing ESG initiatives.
Norbert Gehrke
