The Open Network (TON) a technology platform with the goal of merging all blockchains and the Web2 internet into a single open network, has announced the launch of the TON Accelerator Programme. This year, the programme will allocate up to $25 million to projects with the potential to have a significant effect on the expanding TON ecosystem. The money comes from the TONcoin Fund, a $250 million ecosystem fund set up specifically to help out startups based on the TON blockchain.
How the fund operates and what it takes to qualify
The TONcoin Fund will distribute capital to key projects across different fields, with a special emphasis on decentralised finance (DeFi). Each initiative will receive funding ranging from $50,000 to $250,000. The accelerator partners in the TON Accelerator Programme pool include Gotbit, Web3port, Tonstarter, TEB, and Cypher Capital, among others.
Projects must build TON in order to be considered for funding. Additionally, initiatives should be ready for a minimum viable product (MVP) and require assistance in marketing, business, and technology (teams developing a proof of concept or prototype that need more technical support should apply for earlier-stage awards).
The TON Accelerator programme is improving upon and adapting the incubator model popularised in the web2 ecosystem by incorporating cutting-edge web3 protocols and methods of operation. TON says that while the TON Foundation continues to establish strategic collaborations with leading accelerators in the web3 area, the pool of TON Accelerator Programme partners is only going to grow.
The first group of projects to be considered for funding will be those that took part in Hack-a-TONx DoraHacks. This was a two-month long virtual hackathon put on in conjunction with DoraHacks, a world-renowned hacker organisation that serves as a link between the hacker community and business challenges, as well as new business ideas. TON claims that its ecosystem will be able to entice developers of all experience levels and backgrounds from all over the world.