DFINITY Foundation Launches Olympus, a Decentralized Global Acceleration Platform on the Internet Computer

-       Olympus is the first on-chain acceleration platform

-       Olympus will transition into a DAO

ZURICH, April 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The DFINITY Foundation (DFINITY), a Swiss not-for-profit research and development organization and major contributor to the Internet Computer Blockchain (ICP), today announced the launch of the Olympus Acceleration Platform, web3's first decentralized, on-chain global acceleration platform. Olympus supports the development and adoption of web3 technology across multiple ecosystems. The acceleration platform is a first of its kind platform and will be used by teams around the world to organize and launch their own accelerator programs.

Initial operations of Olympus will be funded by a $15M grant from DFINITY and the ICP Asia Alliance, which aims to cultivate a dynamic Web3 and AI ecosystem in Asia. There will be new allocation of funds in future with the launch of proposed EU, MENA, Africa and America alliances, cementing ICP's global reach.

By the end of 2024 the platform will transition into a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). To ensure platform sustainability and independence from grants, future cohorts will be funded by a native token generation event (TGE), followed by fundraising from the community. This will also ensure all stakeholders benefit from the success of the platform as token holders.

Designed for a new cycle of web3 product launches, Olympus provides a consolidated platform for open and sustainable project acceleration by providing access to grants, crowdfunding, VC investments, and referrals all in one place and on-chain. The platform operates as an ecosystem pipeline, channeling and curating the best projects from 40+ countries around the world. Projects can apply to join a distributed network of startup accelerators, raise funds, access talent, and interact across communities and ecosystems, while investors on the platform can increase their visibility and gain early access to fully transparent, globally vetted deals.

Dominic Williams, Founder and Chief Scientist of the DFINITY Foundation, commented "The Olympus Acceleration platform promotes decentralization, innovation and entrepreneurship, we're all looking forward to witnessing the growth of the next generation of projects on the Internet Computer and other ecosystems through Olympus. By creating a web3-based global platform for everyone, we're able to bring together top talent, projects, investors, and mentors to create a credible and trustless marketplace offering equal opportunity and access to all qualified projects. Traditional accelerator programs are permissioned and operate as silos, many are also not sustainable and rely on grants. Olympus is a new model, that's why I am especially excited to get involved as a mentor and share my experience with the next generation of founders".

Unlike existing accelerator programs which are siloed and require permission to interact, Olympus uses an Open Stake model where projects, mentors, and investors can interact freely, enabling permissionless ecosystem inclusivity and unlimited integrations. Utilizing multi-chain infrastructure, projects can also unlock capital and users at scale through early crowdfunding. Olympus will also enable on-chain verification of key project growth metrics, with further verification provided by the platform's trustless perpetual rating loop enabling community members, investors, mentors, and users to rate projects and provide testimonials. Such multi-chain infrastructure and on-chain verification are uniquely powered by the technologies of Internet Computer Protocol.

The launch of the platform is anchored by a number of partners and supporters, including Web3Labs, a blockchain incubation accelerator and investment firm based in Hong Kong committed to discovering, investing in, and nurturing the best projects and innovative teams in web3. DFINITY and Web3Labs recently announced a strategic partnership to foster and promote blockchain innovation across Asia with Web3Labs joining the ICP Asia Alliance founded last year. The first batch of multiple web3 startup accelerator programs is expected to be operated by ICP Hubs as well as partners like Web3Labs through the platform. 

Also joining the platform are venture capital investors who will become Mentors in the accelerator cohorts and gain access to deal flows. These investors have also led investment at VC funds including Fenbushi Capital, Fundamental Labs, Softbank Vision Fund, NewTribe Capital, Cypher Capital, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, Summer Ventures, L2IV, Dext Force Ventures, Leadblock Partners, viaBTC Capital, Cipholio Ventures, Chiron Group, 3X Capital, Plutus.VC, and others.

Founders and developers wishing to participate in Olympus can submit their projects to the platform here.

About DFINITY Foundation: The DFINITY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization of leading cryptographers, computer scientists and experts in distributed computing. The DFINITY Foundation boasts the largest R&D operations in the blockchain industry with many employees coming from IBM Research and Google. The DFINITY Foundation employees have published papers 1600+ and 250+ patents. The Foundation is headquartered in Zurich, with a research center also in San Francisco. With a mission to shift cloud computing into a fully decentralized state, the Foundation leveraged its experience to create the Internet Computer and currently operates as a major contributor to the network.

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SOURCE DFINITY Foundation