Soneium Launches an NFT Collection Commemorating Sony's AI Robo Dog aibo

Soneium, Sony's Layer 2 solution underpinned by the Ethereum (ETH) chain, announced the launch of its new non-fungible token (NFT) project with aibo.

Sony’s Layer 2 solution Soneium has launched a new non-fungible token (NFT) project with aibo, the tech corporation’s first artificial intelligence (AI) robo dog.

The soulbound token (SBT) collection is arriving to mark the first installment of the initiative.

Aibo’s NFT Collection Arrives on Soneium

The name aibo comes from the Japanese word “aibou,” which means mate, companion, or trusted friend. The AI robot was developed by Sony’s Digital Creatures Lab and Toshitada Doi, and its production ran from 1999 to 2006.

Despite its discontinuation, aibo later found itself in Carnegie Mellon’s Robot Hall of Fame. It has also paved the way for advancements in modern companion robots.

According to Soneium, it decided to integrate aibo into an SBT because he is more than just a product. Instead, he is a companion with a unique bond with his owner. Each token highlights aibo’s advanced AI, emotional intelligence, adaptive learning, and unique personality development.

In addition, the SBTs are more than just an NFT drop. Each piece represents Sony’s technological history and is authenticated by Sony Block Solutions Labs, Soneium’s developer.

“Each SBT provides collectors with a rare collectible opportunity to own a piece of aibo’s journey, highlighting the technology and spirit of innovation that began in Japan and defined generations of companion robots. The tokens also symbolize the friendships aibo has made across generations and how his presence in Web3 brings together the past, present, and future of Sony,” Soneium added.

Soneium didn’t specify the rarity of the collection. However, around 4.74 million aibo SBTs had already been minted on the OpenSea marketplace by Monday noon.

Aibo’s minting runs from March 10 to 24 on OpenSea, and its minting is only limited to 1,000 per wallet. Being an SBT, each piece of Aibo NFT is non-transferrable.

About Soneium

Sony Block Solutions Labs (Sony BSL), a subsidiary of the Japanese legacy tech corporation, launched the Soneium mainnet in January. It came a couple of months after its unveiling in August 2024 and more than a year after initial planning and development in September 2023.

Sony described Soneium as a “versatile general-purpose blockchain platform.” Its goal is to streamline the process of blockchain interactions for creators and users. Its network leverages OP Stack and Superchain from the Optimism Foundation.

During Soneium’s testnet phase, it boasted over 47 million transactions from 14 million active wallet addresses. To date, the numbers have grown to 58 million transactions in 17.92 million addresses according to Blockscout data. Meanwhile, the platform’s DeFi (decentralized finance) protocol has accumulated $65 million in TVL per DefiLlama.