Algorand Foundation, the steward of the world’s first open-source, permissionless, pure proof-of-stake blockchain protocol, has launched Algorand Asia Accelerator together with Borderless Capital, the Algorand-focused blockchain venture fund. Powered by LongHash Ventures, the native Web 3.0 blockchain accelerator and investor, Algorand Asia Accelerator aim to encourage and spur blockchain development in particular synergy with Finance 3.0 and beyond, empowering projects to build, grow and foster financial innovations in the Algorand ecosystem. The programme offers USD$15,000 upfront seed funding for each selected project, with these projects also eligible for up to USD$250, 000 in follow-on investment FinTech News.
Commenting on the launch of Algorand Asia Accelerator, Fangfang Chen, Chief Operating Officer at Algorand Foundation, said, “Innovation is a collaborative journey. Along with our latest grant program, which aims to distribute more than USD $60M to build a vibrant ecosystem, Algorand is consistently supporting some of the most promising minds in the industry. Algorand Asia Accelerator is the natural culmination of our efforts, in particular, refining our focus on Finance 3.0 to realize the promise of a truly borderless economy.”
“We are looking for the best teams and best startups developing the next generation of financial services and products on top of the Algorand network. Asia is one of the major regions where the Finance 3.0 market has been exponentially growing. In collaboration with the Algorand Foundation, LongHash Ventures, and a group of leading Asian blockchain investors, corporate partners and industry practitioners, we are committed to working together in bootstrapping the adoption of this new open finance and digital assets ecosystem, and bring it to the next level,” David Garcia, Managing Partner of Borderless Capital commented.
For the duration of the 12-week accelerator programme, Algorand Asia Accelerator provides selected projects with end-to-end support across the spectrum of strategy formulation, go-to-market execution, and subject matter guidance across technological mentorship, token economics, marketing, and fundraising. Algorand Asia Accelerator has onboarded mentors distinguished in various fields and disciplines, including Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer at Tether, Carlos Domingo, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Securitize, Jing Chen, Chief Scientist of Algorand Inc., as well as Deng Chao, Managing Director at HashKey Capital, among others.
“In this tumultuous period, accelerators are an especially crucial element of venture ecosystems and blockchain infrastructure. Algorand Asia Accelerator has the rare ability to tap into both the leapfrog potential of blockchain and the consistent, resilient growth in Asia. LongHash Ventures, with our strong Asia presence and established venture building capabilities, offers strategic access into a vibrant, animated startup ecosystem,” Emma Cui, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at LongHash Ventures, added.
