Startale Group L2 Ethereum blockchain establishes presence in Abu Dhabi

Startale Group, the entity behind the development of an L2 Ethereum blockchain for Sony, has been accepted into Abu Dhabi’s Digital Assets cohort at Hub71 backed by Mubadala and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development.

Startale will establish its operations in ADGM. The company was selected as one of 27 companies. According to the company, participation in Hub71 places it within a network of institutional partners, capital providers, and regulators involved in shaping Abu Dhabi’s digital asset ecosystem.

StarTale entered the UAE through Japanese delegation during a cohort that started in September 2025.

“Hub71 and Abu Dhabi Global Market provide the regulatory clarity and global reach we need to scale Startale’s ecosystem responsibly”, said Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale Group. “Abu Dhabi is becoming a key hub for digital assets, and joining this cohort positions us to expand across Eastern and Western markets, working closely with regulators and institutional partners”.

The Abu Dhabi expansion follows Startale’s $63 million Series A funding round, which the company said will support the development of its blockchain and stablecoin infrastructure in regulated markets.

Startale is building Soneium Soneium, an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain co-developed with Sony Block Solutions Labs, a joint venture with Sony Group Corporation. The company is also advancing Strium and stablecoin initiatives, including JPYSC, in collaboration with SBI Group, alongside its USDSC stablecoin and the Startale App.

Under the Hub71+ Digital Assets program, Startale plans to expand three areas of its ecosystem: blockchain infrastructure through Soneium and Strium, its Startale App, and its stablecoin initiatives USDSC (USDSC) and JPYSC.

“We are pleased to welcome Startale Group into Hub71’s Cohort 18. Their focus on digital asset infrastructure reflects the strength of our specialist ecosystems and the calibre of founders choosing Abu Dhabi as a launchpad for global growth. We look forward to supporting their expansion,” said Divya Claudia Nair, Startup Journey Lead at Hub71.

Startale said it plans to deploy personnel in Abu Dhabi and work closely with regulators, investors, and partners through Hub71 as it expands across the Middle East and global markets.

In March 2026 Startale Group closed a $63 million Series A backed by SBI Group and Sony Innovation Fund, positioning the Web3 infrastructure company at the center of Japan’s institutional push into tokenized securities and stablecoin rails.

Startale closed a $63 million Series A in two tranches — a $13 million first close from Sony Innovation Fund in January 2026 and a $50 million second close from SBI Group.

SBI Chairman Yoshitaka Kitao said at the time that Startale “possesses extensive expertise in the field of on-chain integration and offers capabilities that complement those of the SBI Group,” framing the investment as vertical integration in digital finance rather than a passive bet. Startale also unveiled USDSC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin designed to enable fiat-to-crypto integration, onchain dividends, and yield distribution for both retail and institutional users.

The investment from Sony Innovation Fund, was part of their focus on building blockchain infrastructure for entertainment, intellectual property and artificial intelligence applications.

Soneium has processed over 500 million transactions since launching its mainnet in January 2025, with 5.4 million active wallets and more than 250 live decentralized applications, according to Startale. The network has positioned itself as an entertainment-focused blockchain platform.

The Startale App serves as the primary gateway to the Soneium ecosystem, integrating wallet functionality, asset management and application access. Startale USD provides a settlement layer connecting applications, users and payments across the network.

The Fresh capital was also used to upgrade the Startale App into a SuperApp running on Soneium, integrating tokenized assets, stablecoins, payments, Mini Apps, and social features into a single consumer interface.