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

According to ChainCatcher, TechCrunch reports that Indian social gaming platform STAN has announced the completion of an $8.5 million equity financing round, led by Google AI Futures Fund, with participation from Japanese gaming giant 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 called “Gems” by playing competitive games such as PUBG Mobile, and enables creators to set up chat rooms called “Clubs,” which are customized channels for each game on the platform. To join these Clubs, users must pay a type of social currency to access the “gaming experiences” provided by creators, from which the company takes a commission. Gems can be exchanged 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.