Startale is a Web3 company built to “bring billions on‑chain” by developing infrastructure and products that unite enterprises, creators, and users into a single on‑chain experience.

Today it orchestrates two pillars: Astar (an L1 ecosystem) and Soneium (an Ethereum L2 developed with Sony).

→ startale.com

• January 2023 — Startale Labs is founded in Singapore by Sota Watanabe, founder of Astar Network. Within months, it secures alliances with Sony, UOB Venture Management, and Samsung NEXT.

• September 2023 — Sony Network Communications and Startale form a joint venture to build a new blockchain (then “Sony Network Communications Labs,” now Sony Block Solutions Labs).

• August 2024 — Sony and Startale announce Soneium, an Ethereum L2 focused on creators and entertainment; they also communicate the strategy to integrate Astar zkEVM into Soneium (Astar Evolution Phase 1)

• January 14, 2025 — Soneium Mainnet goes live, marking the official launch of the network. On the same date, the joint venture is renamed Sony Block Solutions Labs.

• January 2025 — Startale Ventures is launched to accelerate on‑chain onboarding across Soneium and Astar.

Startale’s trajectory is clear: reduce onboarding friction to Web3 for enterprises and end users with simplified UX and reliable infrastructure designed for real‑world use cases. The motto: “Billions Onchain.”

• Sota Watanabe — CEO (also a director at Sony Block Solutions Labs; Forbes 30 Under 30)

• Maarten Henskens — Chief Operating Officer (Protocol Engineering)

• Shaun Wang — Chief Technology Officer (Protocol Engineering)

Born as Plasm Network, the project rebranded to Astar in September 2021 and launched mainnet on January 17, 2022 as a Polkadot parachain with multi‑VM support (EVM and WASM).

It promotes the dApp Staking program, widely considered an innovative way to fund developers, where community staking of $ASTR tokens directs network rewards to projects, providing sustainable support to developers.

In March 2024, Astar zkEVM went live on Ethereum (Polygon CDK/AggLayer).

In 2024, the transition of the zkEVM stack toward Soneium (Astar Evolution, Phase 1) was announced, while Astar continues as a broader collective/ecosystem.

→ astar.network

What’s new on Astar L1: Astar has recently moved to Polkadot’s Agile Coretime model (with automated coretime renewals), improving scalability and cost predictability for the network.

Why it matters: Astar remains a historic “bridge” for enterprises and developers in Japan, backed by a strong brand and community; operational alignment with Soneium on the L2 front helps unify liquidity and experiences.

What it is: an L2 on Ethereum built on the OP Stack (Optimism), designed to join the Superchain and dedicated to entertainment and creator‑driven use cases (IP, fan engagement, NFTs, gaming, and anime).

Mainnet: January 14, 2025.

→ soneium.org

What makes it different:

• Creator & entertainment focus with tooling for digital rights and more equitable revenue models.

• Backed by Sony: the Sony Block Solutions Labs JV (90% Sony / 10% Startale) makes it a central pillar of the group’s Web3 strategy.

• Testnet numbers: millions of wallets and tens of millions of transactions during the Minato Testnet phase, followed by a mainnet launch considered among the most successful and significant Layer‑2 launches globally.

Update (June 2025): Startale launched Startale Account Abstraction (AA) on Soneium — a production‑grade package designed for real apps. It includes:

• Modular smart accounts (ERC‑7579) compatible with ERC‑4337, with plug‑and‑play modules: social login, social recovery, session keys, spending limits, and 2FA.

• Flexible paymasters (gasless via sponsorship, fee payment in $ASTR, $USDC, or platform tokens, as well as self‑funded mode).

• High‑capacity bundler, SDK, and dashboard to help teams move from POC to production.

• A unified wallet and an upcoming Global Wallet for cross‑dApp identity and assets.

Status: AA has just launched and is rapidly evolving: the first integrations are underway (with Kyo Finance as the first Soneium dApp to adopt it).

The goal is to deliver a Web2‑like UX (familiar login flows, no manual key/gas management) while maintaining robust infrastructure reliability — so onboarding to Soneium is smoother and faster.

Startale aims to become a global reference point for building and adopting Web3 solutions by combining technical expertise, strategic partnerships, and a clear focus on mass adoption — with Astar Network as the L1 bridge for enterprises and developers, and Soneium as a consumer‑ready Layer‑2 supported by Sony.

Startale’s track record shows a consistent commitment to lowering blockchain’s barriers to entry, providing tools and solutions that simplify user experience without compromising security or performance.

Its mission remains clear: lead innovation in Web3 and bring billions of people on‑chain, turning decentralized technology into everyday reality for users, creators, and businesses.

For real‑time updates on products, roadmap, and the ecosystem, follow:

• Startale → https://x.com/StartaleGroup

• Astar Network → https://x.com/AstarNetwork

• Soneium → https://x.com/soneium

Startale is a Web3 company built to “bring billions on‑chain” by developing infrastructure and products that unite enterprises, creators, and users into a single on‑chain experience.

Today it orchestrates two pillars: Astar (an L1 ecosystem) and Soneium (an Ethereum L2 developed with Sony).

→ startale.com

• January 2023 — Startale Labs is founded in Singapore by Sota Watanabe, founder of Astar Network. Within months, it secures alliances with Sony, UOB Venture Management, and Samsung NEXT.

• September 2023 — Sony Network Communications and Startale form a joint venture to build a new blockchain (then “Sony Network Communications Labs,” now Sony Block Solutions Labs).

• August 2024 — Sony and Startale announce Soneium, an Ethereum L2 focused on creators and entertainment; they also communicate the strategy to integrate Astar zkEVM into Soneium (Astar Evolution Phase 1)

• January 14, 2025 — Soneium Mainnet goes live, marking the official launch of the network. On the same date, the joint venture is renamed Sony Block Solutions Labs.

• January 2025 — Startale Ventures is launched to accelerate on‑chain onboarding across Soneium and Astar.

Startale’s trajectory is clear: reduce onboarding friction to Web3 for enterprises and end users with simplified UX and reliable infrastructure designed for real‑world use cases. The motto: “Billions Onchain.”

• Sota Watanabe — CEO (also a director at Sony Block Solutions Labs; Forbes 30 Under 30)

• Maarten Henskens — Chief Operating Officer (Protocol Engineering)

• Shaun Wang — Chief Technology Officer (Protocol Engineering)

Born as Plasm Network, the project rebranded to Astar in September 2021 and launched mainnet on January 17, 2022 as a Polkadot parachain with multi‑VM support (EVM and WASM).

It promotes the dApp Staking program, widely considered an innovative way to fund developers, where community staking of $ASTR tokens directs network rewards to projects, providing sustainable support to developers.

In March 2024, Astar zkEVM went live on Ethereum (Polygon CDK/AggLayer).

In 2024, the transition of the zkEVM stack toward Soneium (Astar Evolution, Phase 1) was announced, while Astar continues as a broader collective/ecosystem.

→ astar.network

What’s new on Astar L1: Astar has recently moved to Polkadot’s Agile Coretime model (with automated coretime renewals), improving scalability and cost predictability for the network.

Why it matters: Astar remains a historic “bridge” for enterprises and developers in Japan, backed by a strong brand and community; operational alignment with Soneium on the L2 front helps unify liquidity and experiences.

What it is: an L2 on Ethereum built on the OP Stack (Optimism), designed to join the Superchain and dedicated to entertainment and creator‑driven use cases (IP, fan engagement, NFTs, gaming, and anime).

Mainnet: January 14, 2025.

→ soneium.org

What makes it different:

• Creator & entertainment focus with tooling for digital rights and more equitable revenue models.

• Backed by Sony: the Sony Block Solutions Labs JV (90% Sony / 10% Startale) makes it a central pillar of the group’s Web3 strategy.

• Testnet numbers: millions of wallets and tens of millions of transactions during the Minato Testnet phase, followed by a mainnet launch considered among the most successful and significant Layer‑2 launches globally.

Update (June 2025): Startale launched Startale Account Abstraction (AA) on Soneium — a production‑grade package designed for real apps. It includes:

• Modular smart accounts (ERC‑7579) compatible with ERC‑4337, with plug‑and‑play modules: social login, social recovery, session keys, spending limits, and 2FA.

• Flexible paymasters (gasless via sponsorship, fee payment in $ASTR, $USDC, or platform tokens, as well as self‑funded mode).

• High‑capacity bundler, SDK, and dashboard to help teams move from POC to production.

• A unified wallet and an upcoming Global Wallet for cross‑dApp identity and assets.

Status: AA has just launched and is rapidly evolving: the first integrations are underway (with Kyo Finance as the first Soneium dApp to adopt it).

The goal is to deliver a Web2‑like UX (familiar login flows, no manual key/gas management) while maintaining robust infrastructure reliability — so onboarding to Soneium is smoother and faster.

Startale aims to become a global reference point for building and adopting Web3 solutions by combining technical expertise, strategic partnerships, and a clear focus on mass adoption — with Astar Network as the L1 bridge for enterprises and developers, and Soneium as a consumer‑ready Layer‑2 supported by Sony.

Startale’s track record shows a consistent commitment to lowering blockchain’s barriers to entry, providing tools and solutions that simplify user experience without compromising security or performance.

Its mission remains clear: lead innovation in Web3 and bring billions of people on‑chain, turning decentralized technology into everyday reality for users, creators, and businesses.

For real‑time updates on products, roadmap, and the ecosystem, follow:

• Startale → https://x.com/StartaleGroup

• Astar Network → https://x.com/AstarNetwork

• Soneium → https://x.com/soneium