Cronos Labs' $100 Million Backed Accelerator Program Reopens to Blockchain Startups

The scheme, backed by $100 million of investment, aims to support early-stage crypto projects by providing mentorship and funding opportunities.

Seoul, Korea, September 5th, 2023 – Blockchain startup accelerator Cronos Labs has announced the launch of its third cohort for the Cronos Accelerator Program. The scheme, backed by $100 million of investment, aims to support early-stage crypto projects by providing mentorship and funding opportunities.

With the recruitment phase of the program poised to kick off during Korea Blockchain Week from September 4, the accelerator will nurture outstanding startups with the potential to shape the future of web3. Cronos is looking for projects across all industry verticals focused on building practical use cases, to drive increased the adoption of dApps that genuinely attract users and contribute to real-world usage. 

The Cronos Accelerator Program is a 12-week remote program that runs with up to 8 startups at time. Each startup is provided mentorship, master classes, marketing and financial support, and introductions to strategic partners. The curriculum ends with a demo day, which kickstarts discussions about fundraising.

The accelerator program is targeted at teams building at the intersection of AI and crypto. In particular, it is designed to attract projects utilizing AI to provide unparalleled speed and efficiency that will help take products to market. Cronos Accelerator Program is also for teams developing decentralized infrastructure with the potential to democratize AI for broader accessibility and neutrality.

To support its accelerator program, Cronos has a number of top-tier partners and mentors onboard. These include Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), PeckShield, and Certik. AWS and Google Cloud will offer AI-related workshops and mentorship sessions to the participating projects. Other noteworthy partners for the program include Protocol Labs, Hacken, and Covalent.

Ken Timsit, Managing Director at Cronos, said: “Good ideas need support if they’re to become reality. The Cronos Accelerator Program will nurture outstanding ideas from outstanding startups whose innovations have the potential to radically reshape the way AI and decentralized protocols interact. We’re excited to see the concepts being developed by teams admitted to cohort three and about giving them the tools they need to succeed.”

Charlotte Kapoor, Head of Innovation Programs at Cronos, added: “The number and quality of applicants to our previous accelerator program was overwhelming, and it’s going to be tough whittling the entrants for cohort three down to a final shortlist. With the Cronos Accelerator Program poised to open to applicants, we extend an open invitation to builders with original concepts and the willingness to turn them into a working product. We’re looking for novel proposals that solve real problems while demonstrating ingenious uses for AI, blockchain, and decentralized technology.”

Cronos previously received more than 350 applications for the second cohort of its accelerator, an increase of 43% on the inaugural event. It is anticipated that demand will be higher still for the third cohort starting on September 4, which is set to attract global teams developing solutions that harness AI and blockchain technology in ingenious ways.

Previous accelerator participants have gone on to enjoy significant success, with a number of concepts being built into fully working products and receiving private funding. These include Earn Network, which raised $2.7M to develop a marketplace for liquid investments.

Successful applicants for the third cohort of the Cronos Accelerator Program will be invited to participate in the mentorship initiative when it commences in Q1 2024. Scheduled to run for three months, the initiative will give teams the resources and support they need to turn their transformative ideas into reality.

About Cronos Chain

Cronos (cronos.org) is the leading Ethereum-compatible layer 1 blockchain network built on the Cosmos SDK, supported by Crypto.com, Crypto.org and more than 500 app developers and partners. Today, the #CROfam ecosystem represents an addressable user base of more than 80 million people worldwide. Our mission is to make it easy and safe for the next billion crypto users to adopt Web3, with a focus on decentralized applications in the DeFi, NFTs and GameFi verticals.

Shortly after launch in November 2021, Cronos achieved a top 10 position amongst all chains by TVL. It is home to more than 1 million users and 500+ dApps.

Transaction fees are paid in Cronos ($CRO), a blue chip cryptocurrency.

The Cronos ecosystem is supported byCronos Labs, the start-up accelerator of Cronos chain.