PANews reported on August 28 that according to Cointelegraph, Sony Block Solution Laboratory (SonyBSL) launched the Soneium Minato public testnet and Soneium Spark incubator on August 28. The Layer2 blockchain Soneium, developed by Sony's subsidiary Singapore Startale Labs, debuted a week ago. This is Sony's boldest move to enter the Web3 field so far.
SoneiumSpark will offer developers a range of benefits, including investments of up to $100,000 and other funding opportunities through the program's partners. Qualified developers will also receive "official support from Sony Group, AstarNetwork and Startale," Sony Block Solutions Labs director Sota Watanabe said in a statement.
Astar Network is a "special partner" of this emerging blockchain and will support Soneium Spark participants together with USDCoin issuer Circle, Ethereum second-layer solution developer Optimism, development platform Alchemy, decentralized index system TheGraph, and oracle network Chainlink. Soneium uses Optimism's OP Stack code base. Sony's subsidiaries will also participate in Soneium Spark, including its music, film and education departments, innovation fund, and Inzone gaming headset department.
