Two prestigious American universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, have joined forces to launch a Web3 startup accelerator aimed at supporting early-stage founders associated with both institutions.
According to The Block, the accelerator, called “MIT x Harvard Blockchain Accelerator,” focuses on blockchain technology and is dedicated to supporting early-stage founders in the Web3 space. Sam Lehman, one of the core contributors to the accelerator, stated that it is a non-dilutive program, meaning that the accelerator will not hold any equity in the accelerated startups, nor does it have any plans for short-term investments or funding. The main focus will be on providing guidance and mentorship.
The mentors involved in the accelerator include the founders of NFT marketplace Blur and Ethereum Layer 2 solution Blast, known as “Pacman” Tieshun Roquerre; Kenny Li, co-founder of Layer2 Manta Network; Keone Hon and Eunice Giarta, co-founders of Layer 1 blockchain Monad Labs; and Mirza Uddin, business development lead at Layer 1 blockchain Injective Labs.
Additionally, members from various cryptocurrency companies such as a16z, Avalanche, Dragonfly, Galaxy Digital, Nascent, and Polygon will also join the accelerator as mentors. Due to company policies, the exact identities of these mentors cannot be disclosed, according to Lehman.
In recent years, Stanford University students and alumni have also established a similar blockchain accelerator called the Stanford Blockchain Accelerator.
The first cohort of the MIT x Harvard Blockchain Accelerator is set to commence in April and conclude in June.
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