TON launches $25 million accelerator for emerging projects

• Projects will receive between $50,000 and $250,000 from the $250 million Toncoin Fund.
• The program will offer partnership and mentorship support, with multiple leading firms available to projects.
• TON Accelerator Program will draw funding from the $250 million ecosystem fund dubbed TONcoin Fund.

In crypto news today, The TON Foundation, the organisation behind the The Open Network (TON) blockchain, has announced a new $25 million accelerator program for emerging projects. 

The program, called the TON Accelerator Program, will provide funding, mentorship, and other resources to help projects build in the TON ecosystem.

TON is a community created blockchain network that uses the technology designed by Telegram and has the native cryptocurrency Toncoin (TON).

TON to offer upto $250k to each project

The TON Accelerator Program, which is open to various types of projects, will see select teams receive between $50,000 and $250,000 in funding. TON looks to have particular focus on projects in the DeFi space, according to details shared on Monday.

The program’s funding will come from the TONcoin Fund, a $250 million ecosystem fund launched to support developers and founders looking to build on TON.

#TONcoinFund’s $250M commitment will boost key projects, focusing on #DeFi.

Offering $50-250k per project plus mentorship via partners like #Gotbit, #Web3Port, #Tonstarter, #TEB, #CypherCapital. Excited to expand with more partners, drive #Web3 innovation, and attract global… pic.twitter.com/QHYvKHtT9S

– TON 💎 (@ton_blockchain) May 22, 2023

Projects will also benefit from mentorship provided by some of the top partners and investors within the TON community. These will include hedge fund and AI-powered market maker GotBit Markets; Web3-focused innovation platform Web3Port; and Tonstarter, the leading fundraising platform on TON.

Also key to the program will be South Korea based Web3 incubator Boom Labs and UAE-based multi-strategy #crypto investment firm Cypher Capital Group.

Justin Hyun, Head of Incubation and Growth at TON Foundation expressed delight at the launch of the accelerator program, noting in a statement that the funding is part of a crucial strategy of ensuring growth.

“This is the beginning of many different incubators which will be supported in the future. Funding forms part of our local hubs rollout strategy and our ecosystem will work to attract new developers as well as successful repeat founders, based across a variety of key global locations,” Hyun added.

Projects set to be included in the initial selection will be those that participated in the Hack-a-TONx DoraHacks hackathon. The virtual hackathon ran for two months and involved DoraHacks, a leading hacker organisation.

According to the TON Foundation, application for funding is open to all MVP-ready projects. Those projects with a proof-of-concept or prototype and are seeking initial technical support are encouraged to apply for early-stage grants.