Quick take:
- Startale Labs has secured $3.5 million from Sony Network Communications.
- The web3 startup is building a global infrastructure to foster web3 adoption.
- Sony Network Communications’ Jun Watanabe has been appointed as a director of Startale Labs as part of the investment.
Startale Labs has announced a $3.5 million investment from Sony Network Communications, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Japanese tech and entertainment giant. The fundraising involved a private placement of new shares.
The web3 startup said it will use the funds to build infrastructure to foster the global adoption of web3. Sony Network Communications’ President and Representative Director Jun Watanabe has joined Startale Labs as a director.
The two companies will explore joint investment opportunities to accelerate the mass adoption of web3.
This is not the first time the two companies have been involved in the same project. Earlier this year, they joined Astar Network, Japan’s Polkadot Network-based smart contract platform to co-host a Web3 Incubation Program, providing support for web3 projects seeking to bring utility to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs).
Some of the funds will also go towards hiring new talent in an effort to advance the development of web3 products and services.
Startale Labs’ web3 footprint can be traced to several parts of the world Astar Network. However, its main focus has been in Japan, growing to become the number one blockchain in the Asian country.
The company is on a mission to create “Web3 for Billions,” which it aims to achieve by onboarding by enabling users and businesses in Japan to embrace blockchain technology.
Sony Network Communications and Startale Labs believe the mass adoption of web3 can be achieved by addressing the challenges that the industry faces especially by creating all-in-one solutions.
Commenting on his appointment as a director at Startale Labs, Jun Watanabe, President and Executive Officer of Sony Network Communications Inc., said: “I am excited to further strengthen our collaboration with Startale Labs, a company with advanced Web3 technologies and expertise. We have already been cooperating with Startale Labs by jointly hosting incubation programs, aiming to promote the development of Web3.”
Watanabe believes that by combining “Startale Labs’ knowledge and technical capabilities in Web3 with the experience and business fields cultivated by Sony Network Communications,” the two companies will be able to create the infrastructure required for the global adoption of web3. “We believe this partnership will contribute to the creation of new killer Web3 use cases and deliver unprecedented levels of value,” added Watanabe.
On the other hand, Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale Labs commented: “With its wealth of IP and expertise in sectors adjacent to the creator economy, Sony Group has tremendous potential in the Web3 space, and we can’t wait to collaborate on tapping into that. We look forward to collaborating with Sony Network Communications to develop global Web3 infrastructure and creating groundbreaking Web3 use cases.”
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