Google has backed STAN, an Indian social gaming platform that connects gamers with creators, communities, and publishers.
Google’s investment comes as part of an $8.5 million equity funding round, which also saw investment from Japanese gaming giants Bandai Namco Entertainment, Square Enix, and Reazon Holdings. Aptos Labs and King River Capital, as well as existing backers General Catalyst and GFR Fund, also participated. Google joined the round via its AI Futures Fund, which launched in May to support startups building with its AI tools.
STAN, headquartered in Singapore, is trying to position itself as a gaming community platform to rival Discord, but its approach to the market is quite different. STAN lets users earn in-app currency called “Gems” by winning games like Krafton’s Battlegrounds Mobile India, Garena’s Free Fire Max, Minecraft, Call of Duty, or casual titles like Ludo and Snakes & Ladders.
The app also lets creators set up chat rooms called Clubs, which are channels tailored for each game on the platform. While anyone can join these Clubs, they need to pay a social currency to access the “gaming experiences” that creators offer. The startup takes a commission from these transactions.
The primary attraction seems to be the in-app currency, however, as it can be redeemed for vouchers on various e-commerce platforms like Amazon, PhonePe, and Flipkart. Users can also earn currency via referrals, a spin-to-win wheel, and daily rewards.
It appears STAN’s monetization model is what sets it apart: users can earn rewards through interactions, unlike on Discord, where chatting or participating in communities doesn’t earn users much, apart from clout.
Nonetheless, STAN wants to shadow Discord. The company claims it has already garnered over 25 million downloads on the Play Store and App Store altogether, and has around 5.5 million monthly active users.
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Image Credits:STAN
“STAN is the hangout place for gamers. It’s a place where gamers come and make friends, play with each other, talk to each other, sort of a fusion of social and gaming,” said Parth Chadha, co-founder and CEO of STAN, in an interview.
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