Beacon, a leading web3 accelerator founded by Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, has unveiled its fourth and largest cohort to date. The program has selected 17 promising startups for its latest three-month accelerator, marking a significant expansion from previous cohorts.

The new group includes some of the most high-profile companies in Beacon's history, with several already backed by prominent venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, and Polychain Capital. The startups span various sectors within the web3 space, including decentralized finance (DeFi), infrastructure, and artificial intelligence (AI).

“We're thrilled to welcome our largest and most diverse cohort so far,” said Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon and Beacon. “The caliber of companies joining us is truly exceptional, and we're excited to see how, with the aid of our mentorship and resources, they will shape the future of web3 and beyond.”

Notable Participants and Their Innovations

Among the standout companies in the cohort are:

• Stakestone: An omni-chain liquid staking token protocol enhancing staking yields and liquidity on Layer 2s.

• EXO: Enables users to run their own AI clusters at home using everyday devices.

• Nubit: A scalable, cost-efficient data availability layer secured by Bitcoin, empowering applications like Ordinals and Layer 2s.

• Aligned Layer: A decentralized network that verifies zero-knowledge proofs and posts the results to Ethereum.

• eoracle: A programmable data layer that connects smart contracts with real-world data by extending Ethereum's Proof of Stake.

Building on Past Successes

The announcement comes after the graduation of Beacon's successful S23 cohort, which comprised 10 companies. Alumni such as scalable data availability layer 0G and verifiable oracle protocol ORA have achieved unicorn status since completing the program. ORA secured $20 million in funding led by Polychain Capital, while Inco, a universal confidentiality layer, closed a $4.5 million seed round led by 1kx.

“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,” Nailwal added.

The Full Cohort Lineup

The complete list of companies in Beacon's S24 cohort includes:

• Avantis: Provides infrastructure for traders to access up to 100x leverage on major cryptocurrencies, forex, and commodities.

• Compute Labs: Utilizes a Compute Tokenization Protocol to financialize AI and create compute derivatives.

• Crynux: Founded by former Google engineers, building a permissionless and trustless protocol for decentralized AI.

• EZKL: Offers a developer-friendly system for verifiable AI and analytics, powering various decentralized systems.

• Lorenzo: A Bitcoin liquidity finance layer designed to meet global demand for Bitcoin liquidity across Layer 2s and DeFi platforms.

• Nodekit: Developing Javelin, a solution aimed at restoring composability to rollups.

• Othentic: Provides infrastructure for building distributed services, simplifying development on EigenLayer.

• PADO: A decentralized zkAttestation and computation network aiming to unlock internet data for Web3.

• Pallet: A hub for digital culture, community, and ownership built on the Sei network.

• Pin AI: An open platform for personal AI, leveraging open-source technology and crypto for data ownership and privacy.

• TAC: TON App Chain, an interoperability layer for the TON blockchain and EVM-based applications.

• Warlock: Creating new primitives to disrupt and disintermediate the MEV (Miner Extractable Value) landscape.

Beacon's decision to expand its cohort size may be a strategic move to capitalize on the growing momentum in the web3 sector. By supporting a larger and more diverse group of startups, the accelerator is positioning itself as a key player in shaping the future of decentralized technologies.

The inclusion of companies backed by major venture capital firms also adds credibility to the program and could attract more high-quality applicants in the future. This move could foster a more collaborative environment where startups benefit not only from Beacon's resources but also from each other's experiences and networks.

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