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Solaire – an exciting web3 retail platform that merges physical and digital assets – is revolutionizing the way consumers interact with fashion brands. By harnessing the power of web3 and the NEAR blockchain, Solaire is building out key protocol infrastructure and APIs that will expand decentralized retail and unlock new opportunities for both shoppers and fashion brands alike.

Solaire is pioneering phygital use cases and brands will be able to leverage the NEAR blockchain in tandem with Solair’s powerful APIs to engage with their audience in novel ways.  Solaire’s suite of APIs seamlessly integrates with a brand’s existing retail channels. This enables new revenue channels and richer data. 

Solaire’s entire backend is fully on-chain and facilitates an easy-to-use web2 interface, with no wallet or crypto needed from shoppers. The NEAR blockchain helps Solaire provide these benefits for brands, as well as unique integrations with NEAR. This includes Solaire integration with the NEAR Mainnet, native NEAR wallet support, and the NEAR token as a payment option.

How Solaire is Changing Fashion with Phygital

Solaire establishes a 1:1 connection between a physical object and its digital twin. Brands can then leverage Solaire’s infrastructure and suite of APIs to engage customers with NFTs and phygital experiences in a seamless, user-friendly way, removing some of the typical web3 friction points.

“We aim to do all the hard work on the backend so that brands and consumers can enjoy a familiar user experience with all the benefits of Web3 but without the hassle of dealing with wallet or crypto,” says Vivian Zhang, CEO of Solaire. “And NEAR’s blockchain is perfectly suited to run enterprise-level protocols to ensure a seamless and frictionless user experience.”

Soliare infrastructure helps brands create meaningful digital twins for physical goods, as well as providing a means for consumers to buy and trade phygital assets. Solaire allows for minting unique NFTs attached to physical goods and offers an end-to-end solution for securing and tracking a product from manufacturing through its entire product lifecycle.

Solaire has already collaborated with major fashion brands like Freeman’s Limited Edition Phygital Harry Potter™ Collection and Ilona Song. Smart contracts facilitate shipping, returns, and exchanges all on the NEAR blockchain This allows customers to shop and purchase with transparency and confidence.

Benefits of Phygital Assets for Fashion Brands

Phygital assets are a new way for fashion brands to engage consumers, combining the physical and digital worlds to create a more immersive shopping experience. For example, when a customer buys a dress in real life, they also receive a digital wearable. This can be in the form of an AR filter, a digital skin in their favorite game, or to wear in the metaverse. 

“Solaire’s mission is to empower the retail industry with web3 tools to cultivate a more connected and automated ecosystem,” Zhang continues. “With our suite of APIs, brands are able to maximize revenue and gain valuable data from digital assets, facilitate the secondary market, and build community.”

Brands can then use Solaire as a powerful CRM tool. Through the digital twin in customers’ wallets, brands will have a constant open channel of communication with both the primary customer and secondary owners. Smart contracts also automate royalties from secondary selling, giving brands visibility into trading data.

Another exciting feature is the secondary market experience brands can now provide. Solaire’s backend enables peer-to-peer physical asset trading without a middleman, utilizing blockchain-secured data and smart contracts. Buyers and sellers can independently confirm possession and authenticity of assets on-chain, and smart contracts resolve any disputes.

Solaire and NEAR Building a Phygital Fashion Future

“We’re building on NEAR because it champions community, and it’s one we have found to be incredibly supportive,” remarks Vivian Zhang, CEO of Solaire. “We’ve been able to connect and collaborate with so many partners as we build an entire retail ecosystem together on NEAR.”

As fashion brands recognize the value of web3, NFTs, and phygital technology as important audience touchpoints, Solaire has the potential to partner with even more fashion brands and designers. Solaire’s game-changing approach and tech stack – aided by the NEAR blockchain – will bring web3 to more fashionistas without some of the usual pain points.

“Together with NEAR, we hope to lay out the Web3 infrastructure for the retail industry to onboard the next billion users into web3,” concluded Zhang. 

NEAR Foundation is excited to announce that it has joined Hydra Ventures, a “fund of funds” investment DAO. A first in the Web3 space, Hydra Ventures is designed to help other investment DAOs get off the ground. 

By partnering with NEAR Foundation, Hydra Ventures will open the doors to the eventual launch of the first investment DAO in the Near ecosystem. 

“The combined expertise of the leaders that have created this fund offers a winning formula that will help provide critical funding to purpose-driven, socially impactful web3 startups,” said Marieke Flament, CEO of NEAR Foundation. “We are delighted to be playing a part in launching this DAO and look forward to seeing the role it will play in developing our ecosystem.”

Decentralizing Web3 investment with DAOs

To power the “fund of funds” investment DAO, Hydra Ventures has raised $10M in capital from NEAR Foundation, MetaCartel Ventures, ConsenSys, 1kx Ventures, Collab + Currency, Nonagon Ventures, CMT Digital, among others. Hydra Ventures aims to take a hands-on approach to support investment DAOs, from community coordination and investment practices to organizational design, incentive design, and back office/operations.

“While the first legally wrapped investment DAOs showed us what was possible, many of them have had major operating flaws which have been exposed over the years,” said Peter Pan, co-summoner of MetaCartel and Partner at 1kx Ventures. “Hydra looks to address many of these problems and ultimately emerge with a fundamentally better model for how investment DAOs should be operated. We are thrilled to have NEAR Foundation’s support in this venture.”

Hydra Ventures is incubated by Thing3 and MetaCartel Ventures (the first and one of the most successful investment DAOs created), and backed by leading founders and thinkers in Web3. MetaCartel has incubated and made investments in several category-leading projects like Sky Mavis, Axie Infinity, Arweave, Open Zeppelin, DAOhaus, Zapper Finance, and Rarible, and were also one of the first investors in Mintbase, an NFT marketplace built on Near. MetaCartel members include Ameen Soleimani (founder, Moloch DAO), Stani Kulechov (founder, AAVE), Roneil Rumburg (founder, Audius), Bobby Ong (founder, Coingecko), RAC (Grammy award winner), Peter Pan (Partner, 1kx Ventures), amongst others.

NEAR Foundation is excited to announce a new partnership with Popp, a company helping small businesses generate better customer engagement using Web3 technology. 

As part of the partnership, Popp — a solution-as-a-service (SaaS) for small-to-medium consumer brands — will launch its white-labeled tools and products exclusively on NEAR. 

How Popp works for small businesses

Popp helps consumer brands launch micro community spaces for customers, which are embedded in their online stores. Milestone-based customer rewards then drive more engagement for brands. The NEAR partnership will, for instance, allow Popp’s customers to issue NFTs when certain milestones are met. 

On Popp, brands can build deeper, more meaningful connections with customers by rewarding them across multiple touch points. Through these bespoke projects, Popp has already generated over £57k in revenue ($69k USD) in six months via six pilot partners. 

Popp has two interfaces. On the business side, each brand gets its own custom dashboard, where they control its loyalty and rewards program and see customer data. On the customer side, users can see all of the user activity in one place, like new members and the number of “Popps” that are live or completed. Customers can also create and interact with content — the more they interact with the community, the more coins they can earn. 

Popp’s customer brands include Batch LDN, perl Cosmetics, Acid Running, Jenki Matcha, and Ocean Bottle. 

What’s a Popp? 

A Popp is a small task set by a brand for customers. If customers complete the task, they earn coins that can be used to redeem rewards or unlock experiences. 

Each brand can set a variety of Popps for their customers, which are micro-tasks that generate value for the brand. This can include creating content, leaving reviews, or referring friends. Completing various Popps give users things like discounts and vouchers, but brands can also set up popps for charity, sustainability, and much more.

Through Popp’s “Partnerships” feature, brands can make coins redeemable for rewards from partnering bands. This feature even allows companies to “invite” brands to partner with them for these rewards.  Each customer gets their own user profile, through which they can see the number of coins they’ve collected, and explore where to redeem rewards.

 

Head over to Popp to explore the company’s customer rewards ecosystem. Popp’s closed beta is now live and e-commerce brands should head over to the website now to join the waitlist! 

For the 2023 edition of ETHDenver, the Near ecosystem offered a number of bounties across a range of Web3 verticals, including DeFi, Content, Search, Social Media, Interoperability, Smart Contract History, and more. There were 3 main prize pools from Aurora, Proximity, and Developer Governance (DevGov). 

Congratulations to all Near winners. who received over 30k in USDC! Let’s have a look at the winning projects of the Near at ETHDenver bounties. 

Aurora Bounty Winners

Open Aurora Bounty

Winner – StakingPool Aurora

Implements a liquid staking protocol around Aurora Plus staking. Users will deposit AURORA and receive a share in $stAUR tokens, which distributes the APY rewards. $stAUR could be immediately converted with a fee or wait for a delayed unstake.

Runner Up – Geni

AI-powered specifications generator of security tests for smart contracts.

Runner Up – Demeter

A lending platform that offers yield advancements, i.e., self-paying loans. Borrowers’ collateral is invested in RWA protocols, and the yield pays off debt.

Proximity Bounty Winners

Deploy a Decentralized Frontend Component

Winner – BosWrap 

BosWrap used the Near Blockchain Operating System to build a decentralized widget for wrapping/unwrapping ETH.

Runner Up – ABI BOS Widget 

A solidity explorer widget that allow users to explore any smart contract for a given ABI. You can get ABI from Etherscan website.

Runner Up – Bossed Up

A project focusing on Ethereum frontends, Blockchain Operating System improvements, and NEAR Social widgets that interact with NEAR contracts.

Runner Up – Atmosph3re

A dApp for reducing the homeless crisis in the United States by giving those living on the streets a decentralized identity, mentoring and community support, and funds for spending on their basic needs to help them thrive. 

Runner Up – EthDenver2023UWCA

A dApp on NeaR’s new frontend with BOS.GG. Integrates with Rocketpool to offer quick swaps on Ethereum.

DevGov Bounty Winners

Extensive Developer Profile Widget

Winner – Developer Profile

A recreation of Github profile for NEAR social developers in the Blockchain Operating System. 

Fuzzy Search Widget / Promoted Posts Banner Widget / Top Posts Widget  / Post History with Diff Widget

Winner – Near.Social DevGovGigs Improvements 

A new Developer Governance Gigs interaction experience for Near.Social. Features: 1) Fuzzy Searching that can handle typos, 2) Promote posts and Promoted Post viewer, 3) Hottest Posts viewer, and 4), Post editing history viewer.

Near.Social Bots Coded in Javascript

Winner – JS Bot Widget

Verifiable RPC Replies

Winner – Near Verifiable RPC Endpoints for Viewing Access Keys

Adds proof generation support to RPC read access key endpoints on the NEAR protocol to help pave the road for light client support. 

The NEAR ecosystem is getting a huge boost in the eastern hemisphere today. NEAR Foundation is appointing Arpit Sharma as managing director for India, South East Asia, and the Middle East to help expand NEAR’s presence in those specific regions and beyond. Sharma brings regional expertise as well as leadership experience from the Polygon ecosystem.

“Arpit brings a wealth of experience and passion about Web3 to the table,” said Marieke Flament, CEO of the NEAR Foundation. “With his impressive track record and deep understanding of this space, I am confident he will play a key role in shaping the future of NEAR.”

Sharma’s appointment marks a major milestone in expanding NEAR’s presence in some of the fastest-growing Web3 hotspots in the world. Having previously worked as the VP of Global Enterprises at Polygon, Sharma led enterprise adoption and business development in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. 

“I am thrilled to be in this new role as I see the immense opportunity in the region,” Sharma commented. “There is enormous potential to tap into strong grassroots communities as we continue to use the exciting opportunities presented by Web3 to connect, collaborate and change the world.”

Sharma and NEAR excited by regional opportunities

Favorable demographics and technical resources combined with a strong and diverse consumer base make India, South East Asia, and the Middle East primed for massive Web3 growth in the upcoming decades. As a VP at Polygon, Sharma was a key contributor to enterprise strategy and led the APAC business across enterprise, digital native businesses, and the public sector.

Sharma brings a wealth of regional and cross-industry experience along with extreme enthusiasm for the NEAR protocol, ecosystem, and technology. Sharma will champion Near’s developer-first focus and ease of use to drive onboarding in the APAC and Middle East regions.

“I’m incredibly impressed by the infinite scalability of NEAR’s platform,” Sharma said. “I believe it’s the best protocol in the ecosystem. It not only delivers on its technical promises but gains the support of the developer community. The potential presented in emerging markets is a win-win for everyone.”

As the new regional MD, Sharma will target business opportunities in five of the top ten countries on the 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index. This includes Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and Thailand. The index has been dominated by emerging markets in recent years, and NEAR’s appointment of Sharma will help the ecosystem benefit from this trend.

India in particular boasts the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem and one of the top Web3 talent pools globally. This includes more than 450 active Web3 startups and four unicorns. Sharma will augment NEAR’s current and rapidly growing presence in APAC, with strong regional hubs in South Korea and Vietnam.

Sharma’s Web3 expertise extends to a wide array of industries, solutions, and use cases. This includes the metaverse, NFTs, supply chain tracking, and stablecoins. He’s led projects in these areas and his versatility will be well-positioned to create more opportunities and a richer ecosystem in the Middle East, South East Asia, and India.

As February draws to a close, NEAR Foundation wanted to share some of the best news headlines from the Near ecosystem and community. 

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from NEAR in February. 

NEAR partners with NYU for Web3 learning workshop

NEAR attracted over 135 pieces of global coverage this month. One of the popular announcements was NEAR’s partnership with New York University’s School of Professional Studies, featuring a Web3 learning workshop. 

Published by Cointelegraph and other top-tier press,  this partnership will expose students, faculty, and commercial partners to the underlying technology powering the Web3 industry. The course will focus on blockchain’s intersection with the sporting industry, exposing those involved to hands-on experience taught by Michael Kelly, a co-founder of Open Forest Protocol, and an early builder in the NEAR Ecosystem.

Former NBA player Baron Davis builds platform for photographers on NEAR

Two-time NBA All-Star Baron Davis announced his plan to transform the image and video rights market, utilizing NEAR’s extensive NFT infrastructure to create a purpose-built platform for photographers. 

In an interview with Decrypt, Davis revealed that his startup SliC Images is teaming up with Mintbase with a $250k grant to build a platform where photographers will have ownership of their channels, replacing long-term predatory corporate deals with a fairer platform facilitating opportunities for all photographers. 

Also featured in Tech Funding News and across the industry press, the announcement has excited the Web3 community around the world. Allowing users to take a photo, add a permanent license, auction it off, and stick it on a blog within five minutes, SliC images are aiming to have a prototype of the platform ready for ETH Denver.

NEAR Foundation and Supermoon announce NEAR House 

As the NEAR community prepares for ETHDenver, and especially NEAR Day, Near Foundation announced Near House in collaboration with Supermoon. 

As covered in the Bitcoin Insider, the unforgettable 8-day experience will see 20 builders and founders from the NEAR ecosystem set up camp in downtown Denver and engage in team-building activities and enthusiastic discussions about NEAR Protocol. NEAR House will also include a curated ETH Denver agenda, enabling the innovators to maximize their experience at the event.

Marieke Flament on more women in Web3

Fast Company spoke with Marieke Flament about the importance of greater participation from women in MENA. The crucial nature of diversity of thought in the boardroom cannot be understated, particularly in high-growth industries like Web3.

In the interview, Marieke outlines that human biases are unavoidable components of all our decision-making. So, ensuring that the group making the decisions is as diverse as possible is a key mission when creating the future on the blockchain.

Calimero amongst 10 Web3 startups to watch in 2023

Following their recent funding announcement, Calimero Network was featured in Tech Funding News’ 10 Web3 startups to watch out for in 2023. The piece covered the exciting startup’s ambition to assist Web2 companies in scaling up their offerings by utilizing the NEAR blockchain. 

Calimero’s founders Sandi and Mario are building the first private sharding infrastructure on the NEAR Protocol, enabling more privacy for companies storing data on blockchains.

NEAR partners with Recur

Towards the end of February, Business Insider covered NEAR’s latest step in enhancing interoperability and accessibility in Web3. Partnering with Recur, a project focused on improving the blockchain-building experience, the NEAR ecosystem will have access to an enterprise-grade Web3 software suite. 

The exciting partnership will make Web3 more accessible for everyone, empowering brands and fans to innovate and explore new digital experiences.

NEAR joins Figment-powered Ledger Live

Wrapping up a busy month of activity, NEAR Foundation announced that NEAR has joined Figment-powered Ledger Live, an all-in-one digital asset management app secured by Ledger’s industry-leading hardware wallets. As covered by the Crypto Reporter, more of the Web3 community will now be able to enjoy the benefits of self-custody whilst helping to secure the NEAR Protocol by staking their tokens. 

That’s all for February. If NEAR Foundation missed anything or you would like to share anything for next month’s roundup, please get in touch!

Near Foundation is excited to announce a new integration with RECUR, a  Web3 platform helping major enterprises launch innovative, digital collectible experiences. With RECUR Builder, an enterprise-grade SaaS, the company is making it easier than ever for projects of all sizes to seamlessly build, scale, and integrate Web3 experiences into their existing products, marketing stack, video games, and more. 

By using RECUR Builder, Web2 brands and other projects can develop on-chain branded experiences that enable the purchase, collection, and resale of digital projects and collectibles, like NFTs and beyond. Beloved brands like Paramount, Hello Kitty, and Nickelodeon currently work with RECUR to create chain-agnostic, bespoke experiences that make NFTs accessible through user-friendly experiences. 

Near’s partnership with RECUR is part of its Web2.5 strategy, functioning as a bridge between the Web2 and Web3 worlds. This new integration will enable Near users to purchase, trade, and engage with RECUR’s extensive roster of licensed intellectual property, along with participation in upcoming mints and the option of ecosystem partnerships and NEAR-native mints.

Building and scaling Web3 experiences

RECUR prides itself on helping businesses and creators to build, distribute, and manage Web3 experiences at scale with enterprise-level tools. With a polished and super user-friendly interface, first-time buyers can purchase NFTs from major global and upcoming brands alike. With a Near Wallet, users can buy NFTs using credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and crypto (BTC, ETH, USDC). 

 “We are delighted to partner with Near to bring more Web2 companies into the world of Web3, supporting enterprises and fans with future-proof solutions via the RECUR platform,” says Zach Bruch, CEO of Recur. “We have always been passionate about building the future of web3 for everyone, and building alongside partners like Near is a crucial part of that journey.” 

Marieke Flament, CEO of Near Foundation, noted that this partnership with RECUR is part of a larger commitment to making Web3 more accessible for everyone. 

“[We] are excited about partnering with RECUR to empower brands and fans as they invent and explore new digital experiences,” says Flament. “Finding ways to make Web3 more user-friendly is a key part of unlocking the magic of this new chapter, and we believe this partnership with RECUR helps us to do that for many around the globe.” 

A key roadblock to mass Web3 adoption is onboarding. People want to get into Web3 and crypto, but they don’t know how. Seed phrases, private keys, smart contract transactions, technical knowledge and crypto jargon are massive barriers to Web3 entry. 

With Keypom, that’s about to change. Keypom is a new zero friction onboarding protocol with a companion no-code app, built on Near. 

Now users, regardless of their background, can experience the value of Near’s blockchain technology whether or not they have a wallet. Envisioned as a community-driven, public good — or a public utility — Keypom’s APIs (the Keypom Protocol) will be completely fee-free. The Keypom App will also allow non-developers to take full advantage of Keypom’s powerful wallet-less onboarding experiences.

How Keypom’s frictionless onboarding works

Debuting at NEARCON 2022, Keypom’s onboarding solution is entirely on-chain and non-custodial. It’s  run completely on the Near blockchain via Near smart contracts  — not on any centralized databases.

Keypom allows Near and Web3 to function more like Web2, where developers and end-users alike can use applications without Web3’s usually confusing, tedious, time-consuming onboarding. For those looking to explore this technology, Keypom will offer an App, which is currently set to release at ETH Denver 2023. This app will give users and organizations the ability to easily create links to invite users to experience aspects of the Near blockchain without having to set up a wallet first.

On other blockchains, users are commonly onboarded with pre-created, pre-loaded wallets. Keypom operates on the basis of Near’s unique access key model, which allows for much more flexibility in the end user-experience. 

With Keypom, users are given a special type of access key that can be used to experience a crypto application and later be turned into a wallet. This key can be embedded within a simple Web2 style link that, once clicked, allows users to enter into a crypto experience, entirely on-chain and non-custodially. 

Currently, Keypom experiences include receiving $NEAR, NFTs, Tickets to an event, or even dropping the user into a trial account with Near tokens to spend on a preset selection of apps. Once a user has enjoyed an experience with a Keypom link, they can upgrade to a full account and enjoy the entire Near ecosystem.

For organizations that have experienced Keypom and choose to develop on top of their protocol, the Keypom SDK and Wallet Selector plugin allows for a seamless integration of Keypom’s technology into their own apps. Companies will be able to customize every aspect of the user experience to tailor their needs, all while using carefully designed plug-and-play libraries meant to abstract complicated processes for the developer. 

Low-cost, customizable linkdrops

Typically, linkdrops have been used to onboard developers and end-users looking to build on Near. The cost of creating 1,000 accounts via traditional means has been approximately 1,003 $NEAR. With Keypom, the costs for onboarding 1,000 users can fall to about 3.5 $NEAR. 

“We imagine a world where decentralized applications use the Keypom Protocol to create truly immersive user experiences and specialize in specific use-cases spanning across the entire ecosystem,” says Keypom’s Ben Kurrek. “Companies can build anything from event ticketing to subscription-based payments and multi-sig tooling. While the Keypom App would still allow for users to experience these use-cases, it would be at a much smaller scope.”

Keypom can be used, for instance, to automatically register users into a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) as part of the onboarding process. Another use case is for events ticketing. With Keypom, users wouldn’t need a wallet to enter an event, and would also be able to receive a POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol) NFT.

Perhaps one of the most powerful use cases is the ability for applications to use the Keypom protocol to give their users a free trial. After choosing an account name, the user is instantly signed in and can begin exploring and experiencing the app. Just like with gift cards and other vouchers, the funds can only be used on that dApp thus preventing the possibility for a rug to occur. Once the trial is over, the user can onboard fully with the added option of a payback condition for the funds that the dApp fronted. 

In this new model, Keypom introduces a paradigm shift in Web3 where users experience crypto first and only focus on onboarding once they’ve seen the benefit and gained value.

“We leave it to those building atop the Keypom Protocol to specialize and create applications however they see fit, such as charging custom fees,” says Keypom’s Matt Lockyer. “We’ve created a world where there are no limits and we simply provide the technology that unlocks these experiences.”

For a full explanation on what is possible with Keypom’s customizable linkdrops, check out the Keypom Protocol README. Keypom developer documentation can be found here and Keypom Executive Summary here. 

The NEAR blockchain is an open-source, decentralized blockchain protocol designed to be scalable, developer-friendly, and able to support a wide range of decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts.

The NEAR Foundation is the non-profit organization behind the NEAR blockchain, responsible for the development and maintenance of the NEAR Protocol and its associated ecosystem. Since the inception of the grants program, the NEAR Foundation has committed over $90m capital and the ecosystem grew from 0 to over 1,000 teams. 

One of the central lessons learned during this time is that founding teams need a host of contributors in order to be successful, including mentors/advisors, subject matter specific resources (e.g. legal playbooks, go-to-market strategies, tokenomics, etc), and access to investment opportunities. 

NEAR Foundation is looking to partner with existing acceleration programs in two ways:

  1. Leverage the partner’s excellence and experience in running cohort-based acceleration programs. 
  2. Beta test and help build a digital product being developed by NEAR that connects projects with contributors (including investors).
  3. If you’re interested in becoming a NEAR Accelerator Partner, please read the requirements below. Proposals must be submitted via Google Form by February 17th.

*If you’re a startup looking for accelerator programs, NEAR Foundation is looking to engage with the best partners out there. Register your interest in the NEAR Accelerator here.

NEAR Foundation’s Goal 

Attract the most talented early stage teams to NEAR and provide them with the right tools, knowledge, and network to successfully raise external funds at a later stage. 

Success metrics

  1. Quality of founder experience, as measured by an NPS score.
  2. Ability for founders that have graduated from the accelerator(s) to raise their first or next round within a year of graduation.

Requirements

NEAR Foundation will be assessing proposals based on the two dimensions explained below: the Accelerator Partner Requirements and the Digital Product Beta Participation Requirements. 

Accelerator Partner Requirements

  1. Strong sourcing capabilities in the areas of our investment thesis

NEAR Foundation believes in selecting teams building projects with real world, utility-based use cases that tap into the existing pools of Web2 users and companies. They must leverage Web3 in novel ways to solve real world problems better than Web2 tech is able to. The Foundation will not be focused on specific verticals, and instead be relatively opportunistic in terms of use case (at least in the first few cohorts). DeFi and Gaming verticals would be excluded from the accelerator purview.

The Foundation is focused on pre-seed and seed stage teams. We expect that teams selected for a NEAR sponsored cohort will build on NEAR and leverage NEAR Discovery. More information on NEAR Discovery here. 

In your response, please detail the following:

  1. Web3 accelerator program scope 

As NEAR Foundation aims to attract the best teams, we want our accelerator partner to provide a top class experience and focus on the main challenges that Web3 startups face nowadays, including but not limited to: go-to-market, token economy and launches, fundraising and pitching, marketing and comms, governance, legal, etc. This will be supplemented by the support of experts within the NEAR ecosystem. 

In your response, please detail the following:

  1. Track record of success

NEAR Foundation seeks accelerator partners that have a strong track record of success. In your response, please detail the following:

  1. Attractive deal terms

One of the most important factors in attracting high quality founders to the accelerator will be the quality of the investment terms. 

In your response, please detail the following:

  1. Cost & investment

NEAR Foundation is open to various proposals in terms of costs and investments. Where we land will largely depend on the proposed value to NEAR and its ecosystem. 

For NEAR specific cohorts, the Foundation’s goal is for both NEAR and the Accelerator Partner to share operational cost and investment opportunity. 

For chain agnostic cohorts, we would be willing to provide direct technical and non-technical support from the NEAR Foundation Accelerator’s team for startups who choose NEAR as their Layer 1. 

In your response, please detail the following:

  1. Broader NEAR ecosystem support

NEAR Foundation would like its ecosystem of startups to leverage the partner capabilities even though they are not actively participating in the accelerator (e.g., share ready-made class material, leverage investor network, connections to enterprise, etc.).

In your response, please detail the following:

Digital Product Beta Participation Requirements

In 2023, Pagoda, NEAR Foundation and other key ecosystem participants are increasing the integration and seamless experience for developers and end users into one common operating system that will leverage fast onboarding experience, user profiles, new chat/ social capabilities, and more. As part of this platform, the Foundation is building a founder-focused application that will be the place for both NEAR-native and non-NEAR-native projects to be discovered, find contributors and investors, and grow towards their goals. We would like to invite accelerator partners in as beta customers and builders for this application.

If your organization is both an investment team and an accelerator:

If your organization is solely an accelerator:

In your response, please detail the following:

NEAR Foundation Commitments

NEAR Foundation is committed to complement the partner’s current programs with ecosystem support (technical and non-technical). 

Selection criteria and timelines

NEAR Foundation will be assessing proposals based on the previously mentioned requirements. Acceleration partners are expected to submit their proposals by February 17, 2023 via Google Form. The NEAR Foundation review team will be conducting interviews with selected candidates between February 13-24. The review team will shortlist the partners between February 27-28 and will communicate further with the selected parties. Final approval will be provided by the NEAR Foundation Counsel. 

Legal Disclosure: 

Participation in our accelerator partners program is subject to the following terms and conditions: (1) Confidentiality: Participants will be required to keep all information and materials shared by the program confidential, unless otherwise agreed to in writing or as required by law. (2) Intellectual Property: All intellectual property created or developed by a participant during the program will remain the property of the participant, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the participant. (3) Disclaimer of Liability: The program will not be liable for any damages arising out of or in connection with the program or the participation of any participant. (4) Governing Law: These terms and conditions will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Switzerland. By participating in the program, participants agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.

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