The Algorand Foundation launches an Asia Accelerator Program

The Algorand Asia Accelerator aims to encourage and spur blockchain development, empowering projects to build, grow and foster financial innovations in the Algorand ecosystem.

The Algorand blockchain is described by the Algorand Foundation as the “world’s first open-source, permissionless, pure proof-of-stake blockchain protocol for the next generation of financial products.” The blockchain is claimed to solve a “trilemma” that afflicts other blockchains, striking an optimal balance between decentralization, scale, and security.

Since 2018, the Algorand Foundation has raised a total of US$122 million. Of the amount raised, US$62 million came from an equity raise conducted in mid-2018. The investment came from a broad global investment group representing the venture capital, cryptocurrency, and financial services communities. Some notable investors include Union Square Ventures, Pillar VC, ICONIUM, and Polybius Capital.

The Algorand Foundation also hosted an ICO, which coincided with Algorands’ mainnet launch in June 2018. A total of 25 million ALGO was auctioned off for a total raise of US$60 million, at a price of US$2.40 per token. This valuation implied a US$24 billion market capitalization, which would have made it the third-largest cryptocurrency at the time.

Rather than conducting one token sale, the Algorand foundation has opted to have sales on a rolling basis, auctioning off 600 million ALGO every year, until supply hits 10 billion. As of the 9^th of June 2020, the price per ALGO sits at around $0.23 USD.

Commenting on the launch of Algorand Asia Accelerator, Fangfang Chen, Chief Operating Officer at Algorand Foundation, said, "Innovation is a collaborative journey. Along with our latest grant program, which aims to distribute more than $60 million USD to build a vibrant ecosystem, Algorand is consistently supporting some of the most promising minds in the industry. Algorand Asia Accelerator is the natural culmination of our efforts, in particular, refining our focus on Finance 3.0 to realize the promise of a truly borderless economy."

Finance 3.0, also known as Open Finance, is an ecosystem of financial products and services built using blockchain technology that removes friction in transactions, payments, and global trade.

"We are looking for the best teams and best startups developing the next generation of financial services and products on top of the Algorand network. Asia is one of the major regions where the Finance 3.0 market has been exponentially growing, “commented David Garcia, Managing Partner of Borderless Capital. “We are committed to working together in bootstrapping the adoption of this new open finance and digital assets ecosystem, and bring it to the next level."

The program offers US$15,000 upfront seed funding for each selected project, with up to US$250,000 available for follow-on investment. The Algorand Asia Accelerator aims to take in companies in batches of ten, with the first accelerator program beginning in October 2020 and finishing in January 2021.

Each company will go through three phases during the 12-week accelerator program. The first is focused on developing a strategy and business model, the second is where a go-to-market strategy is created, and the final phase is fundraising, where the participant company is taken on an investor tour. Whilst participating companies do not necessarily need to be domiciled in Asia, the program does require at least one co-founder to be present during the various workshops and investor tours, which are based in Singapore.

Algorand Asia Accelerator has onboarded mentors distinguished in various fields and disciplines, including Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer at Tether and Bitfinex, Carlos Domingo, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Securitize, Jing Chen, Chief Scientist of Algorand Inc., as well as Deng Chao, Managing Director at HashKey Capital, among others.

"In this tumultuous period, accelerators are an especially crucial element of venture ecosystems and blockchain infrastructure,” added Emma Cui, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at LongHash Ventures. “LongHash Ventures, with our strong Asia presence and established venture building capabilities, offers strategic access into a vibrant, animated startup ecosystem."

Algorand also has a venture capital fund that is dedicated to investing in companies that make use of the Algorand protocol: Borderless VC. Whilst the fund has close ties to the Algorand Foundation, Borderless VC is not funded by them. Borderless VC has invested in four companies so far, all making use of the Algorand protocol or interacting with it in some way. The Algorand Foundation, with the proceeds of its yearly token sale, also allocates capital in the Algorand ecosystem. Their focus is more on research, development, infrastructure, education, and community engagement, however.