Beacon, an early-stage web3 accelerator, is excited to launch its fourth biannual three-month program, which provides startups with resources, mentorship, and capital.
Beacon has selected 17 promising companies, the largest cohorts to date comprising the highest profile firms. According to the Beacon team, the firms were chosen from multiple web3 sectors, including AI, DeFi, and infrastructure. These firms have backing from heavyweight VCs like Framework, Pantera, Andreessen Horowitz, and Founders Fund. The seventeen companies participating in Beacon’s S24 include EXO, Nubit, Stakestone, Aligned Layer, eoracle, Avantis, Compute Labs, Crynux, EZKL, Lorenzo, Nodekit, Othentic, PADO, Pallet, TAC, Warlock, and Pin Ai.
Recently, Beacon concluded its highly successful third program (S23) cohorts that saw 10 companies graduate from its program. Among the S23 alumni is 0G, a scalable data availability layer, and ORA, a verifiable oracle protocol, who have made significant marks since their graduation. 0G raised $7.5 million in a seed round co-led by dao5 and Polychain Capital, while ORA secured $20 million in funding from Inco and Polychain Capital. ORA also closed a $4.5 million seed round led by 1kx and participated by ROBOT Ventures and dao5.
Following their predecessors’ success, two companies from the S24 cohorts are already marking significant milestones. Aligned Layer, a decentralized network that verifies zero knowledge, raised $20 million in Series A, while Nubit, a scalable, cost-effective data availability layer secured by Bitcoin, recently concluded its Series A, having raised $12 million.
Commenting on the program, Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder of Polygon and Beacon stated:
“We’re thrilled to welcome our largest and most diverse cohort so far. The caliber of companies joining us in the latest program is truly exceptional, and we’re excited to see how, with the aid of our mentorship and resources, they’ll go on to shape the future of web3 and beyond. With the level of talent and innovation we’re witnessing in this new group, we are entirely confident that they can emulate, if not surpass, their predecessors”
Launched in 2022, Beacon has successfully run 3 unicorn programs establishing itself as a premier launchpad for web3 innovations. Beacon’s three-month program runs twice per year, one cohort for the Fall and one for the Summer. The program accepts the best projects from all over the world who are selected to receive hands-on mentorship, access to Beacon’s founders and investors, access to Beacon alums, and holistic web3 resources.
The program hosts one-off events outside the regular schedule including VC Panels with top investors, pitch practice sessions, and special topic lectures addressing current events in web3.