STAN bags $8.5M from Google’s AI Fund, Bandai Namco, others

Social gaming platform STAN secured $8.5 million in a new funding round from investors, including Japanese gaming companies Bandai Namco Entertainment, Square Enix, and Reazon Holdings, along with Google’s AI Futures Fund and Aptos Labs.

Existing investors, including Nazara Technologies, General Catalyst, GFR Fund, T‑Accelerate Capital, and Pix Capital, also participated in the round, the company said on Thursday.

Founded in 2022 by Parth Chadha, Akshat Rathee, Rahul Singh, and Nauman Mulla, STAN is a mobile-native social platform for gaming creators, publishers, and communities. It allows creators to build and monetise communities through shoutouts, subscriptions, and brand-led activations, as well as provides publishers with native distribution driven by creator engagement.

The funding will support STAN’s expansion in India and other mobile-first markets, enhance AI-driven personalisation and creator tools, and enable new integrations for publishers and partners focused on gaming-led communities.

“STAN's vision for empowering creators and enriching fan communities with innovative and responsible AI features deeply resonates with us. That is why we are so thrilled to welcome them to the AI Futures Fund and collaborate closely to help bring their cutting-edge ideas to life,” said David Benjamin, Co-founder - AI Futures Fund, Google.

Built for a mobile-first user base, STAN serves gaming creators, publishers, and communities through a mobile-optimised platform. With claims of over 25 million downloads, it is said to be gaining traction in India’s Tier II and III markets, where gaming is increasingly becoming a social activity.

“We have 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,” Parth Chadha, Co-founder and CEO of STAN, said, claiming that in the last two years, the platform has grown 25X.

Listed gaming company Nazara Technologies invested Rs 8.7 crore in STAN for a 1.54% stake through a primary transaction in June. Before that, it acquired a 15.86% stake in the company through a Rs 18.4 crore secondary investment in September 2024.