Indian social gaming platform STAN completes $8.5 million funding, with participation from Aptos Labs and others

according to TechCrunch, the Indian social gaming platform STAN announced the completion of a $8.5 million equity financing, led by Google's AI Futures Fund, with follow-on investments from Japanese gaming giants Bandai Namco, Square Enix, Reazon Holdings, Aptos Labs, King River Capital, General Catalyst, GFR Fund, and others.

The STAN platform allows users to earn in-app currency "Gems" through competitive games like "PUBG Mobile," and enables creators to set up chat rooms called "Clubs," which are tailored channels for each game on the platform. Joining these Clubs requires payment in a social currency to access the "gaming experiences" provided by creators, from which the company takes a commission. Gems can be redeemed for vouchers on major e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, PhonePe, and Flipkart. STAN has surpassed 25 million total downloads on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, with approximately 5.5 million monthly active users.