According to CoinDesk, Sony Block Solutions Labs, a memory blockchain technology company jointly established by Japanese electronics giant Sony and Singapore's Startale Labs, announced the launch of an Ethereum layer 2 network called Soneium.

Soneium is expected to test its online presence in the coming days and will adopt Optimal Rollup technology, allowing users to conduct transactions at lower costs on top of Ethereum. It will be built on the OP Stack development toolkit of the Optimism ecosystem, allowing developers to use Optimism's technology to create their own networks and connect to other networks in the ecosystem through 'Superchain'. The L2 that adopts this solution includes the "Base" of the US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

Sony Block Solutions Labs stated in a statement that after the launch of Soneium, it will leverage Sony's global Web2 influence to provide Web3 applications in multiple fields such as entertainment, gaming, and finance.

Startale Labs CEO Sota Watanabe stated in an interview with CoinDesk:

In the first year, we will focus entirely on attracting talent in the Web3 field, as it is still too early to introduce ordinary users from a technical and community perspective. Then in the second phase, which is within two years, we will introduce various products from Sony, such as Sony Bank, Sony Music, Sony Pictures, etc