- Aurora Blocks will provide $250,000 across five teams, along with technical mentorship, business advisory, and go-to-market support.
Gibraltar, May 14, 2025 — Aurora Labs is launching Aurora Blocks, a 6-week incubator designed to fast-track early-stage teams in building EVM-compatible Virtual Chains on NEAR. The program will provide a total of $250,000 across five teams, along with technical mentorship, business advisory, and go-to-market support.
To make this possible, Aurora Blocks brings together a network of leading partners across Web3 infrastructure, security, growth, and funding – including Lemniscap, NEAR, CV VC, MarketAcross, Hacken, Cookie DAO, Peanut.Trade, AuditOne, Aleph Cloud, Cere Network, Billions Network, and Mobula.io. These partners will contribute through workshops, 1:1 mentorship, advisory sessions, and infrastructure support throughout the program.
Aurora Blocks targets high-impact verticals, including AI/DeFAI, DeFi, Bitcoin L2s, RWA, and DePIN. It aims to launch chains that drive real adoption and showcase actual utility.
Part of Aurora’s broader mission to launch 1,000 Virtual Chains in 2025, this incubator plays a critical role in helping founders move from concept to fully operational networks.
“We’re building the future of on-chain ecosystems – one Virtual Chain at a time,” said Alex Shevchenko, CEO of Aurora Labs. “This incubator is about more than funding; we’re giving teams the infrastructure, guidance, and momentum they need to launch real products, attract users, and scale. Aurora Blocks is what allows us to turn bold ideas into reality.”
Applications are open now through May 28, 2025 at aurorablocks.dev.
After an initial review, five teams will be selected to receive seed funding, premium dev tools, security audits, mentorship, and legal support.
The program culminates in a Demo Day on July 23, 2025, where teams will debut their Virtual Chains to investors and the broader NEAR ecosystem.
Aurora Labs is committed to setting high standards for team cohesion, user adoption, investor satisfaction, and overall project viability. Aurora Blocks is designed to help teams build Virtual Chains, which are custom Ethereum-compatible blockchains on NEAR. The incubator provides resources to launch scalable, low-cost chains and uses Aurora’s technology to create successful new projects in the market.
For more information on how to apply or to learn about the incubator’s mission, structure, and success metrics, visit https://www.aurorablocks.dev/
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About Aurora Labs
Aurora is a network of Virtual Chains that are fully customizable, EVM-compatible chains that run as smart contracts on NEAR Protocol. Virtual Chains offer developers the scalability and speed they need, without the high costs and complexity of setting up a traditional L2 infrastructure. By integrating a high-performance EVM, the trustless Intents layer, and advanced Cross Contract technology, Aurora goes beyond full Ethereum compatibility opening the doors to a multichain world.
Learn more: https://auroracloud.dev/
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