Sony to make additional investment in blockchain 'Soneium'… reinforcing long-term mainnet strategy

Sony Group is stepping up its blockchain infrastructure strategy by making an additional investment to mark one year since the launch of the mainnet for its blockchain network, Soneium. The decision reflects an intention to continue investing with a long-term view after confirming real-world operating performance rather than test-stage results.

According to Cointelegraph on the 28th (local time), Sony made an additional US$13 million investment in Startale Group through its subsidiary, Sony Innovation Fund. Startale is a blockchain infrastructure company responsible for developing and operating Soneium and is leading the build-out of an Ethereum Layer 2 network. The investment was decided based on roughly a year of operating data since Soneium launched its mainnet in January 2025.

Startale said the investment was made “after sufficiently observing how the network operates in a real environment following the transition to the mainnet.” Based on a public block explorer, Soneium has processed about 524 million transactions since the mainnet launch. Over the same period, Avalanche and Algorand recorded roughly 442 million and 383 million transactions, respectively. It was also noted, however, that transaction counts alone do not directly indicate user adoption or economic activity.

While the additional investment increases Sony’s exposure to Soneium, Startale said there would be no changes to operations or the governance structure. A Startale official said, “This investment is an extension of Sony’s long-term infrastructure strategy,” adding that “the existing collaboration framework centered on Sony Block Solutions Labs will remain unchanged.”

Startale also operates its own stablecoin, Startale USD (USDSC), on the Soneium mainnet. The token was issued based on the M0 platform and was designed to be used as a primary means of payment for applications and payments on the network. While this funding round represents the first closing of Startale’s Series A, detailed terms such as the company’s valuation were not disclosed.

Soneium is an Ethereum Layer 2 network jointly unveiled by Sony and Startale in August 2024. It targets developers of entertainment, gaming, and consumer applications. In August of the same year, it rolled out the Minato public testnet and a developer incubator, “Soneium Spark,” in succession, underscoring a strategy focused on building the ecosystem directly rather than making a passive investment.