STAN, a social gaming platform, has raised $8.5 million in a new funding round from leading Japanese gaming giants, including Bandai Namco Entertainment INC., Square Enix and Reazon Holdings, as well as Google’s AI Futures Fund, Nazara and Aptos Labs.
The round also saw participation from existing investors, including General Catalyst, GFR Fund, T-Accelerate Capital, and Pix Capital.
The funds raised will be used to expand its presence in India and other mobile-dominant markets, invest in AI-led personalizations and creator tooling, and launch new integrations for publishers and partners looking to build inside gaming-led communities.
Founded in 2022 by Parth Chadha, Rahul Singh, and Nauman Mulla, STAN is a mobile-native social platform for gaming creators, publishers, and communities. With tools for live audio, creator clubs, and real-time monetization, STAN makes it easy to connect, grow, and activate gaming culture. Available on Android and iOS.
The platform enables creators to build and monetize communities through shoutouts, subscriptions, and brand-led activations; offers publishers native distribution powered by creator engagement.
Stan has over 25 million+ downloads and a strong user base in India’s tier-2 and tier-3 markets.
Parth Chadha, Co-founder & CEO of STAN, said, “Gaming is no longer just play, it’s identity, conversation, and community. We’ve built STAN with India at the core and the user at the centre. Every product decision is grounded in what drives real value for our creators and communities. In the last two years, we’ve grown 25x, purely through product-led growth. This is just the beginning! We’re building the next billion-dollar social company out of India, and we’re doing it the only way we know—fast, focused, and user-first.”
David Benjamin, Co-Founder – AI Futures Fund, Google, said, “STAN’s vision for empowering creators and enriching fan communities with innovative and responsible AI features deeply resonates with us. That’s why we’re so thrilled to welcome them to the AI Futures Fund and collaborate closely to help bring their cutting-edge ideas to life.”
