In just under seven months since Mode Mainnet launched we've experienced remarkable growth, reaching $500M in Total Value Locked (TVL), deploying over 60 DeFi protocols, and engaging more than 400,000 on-chain users. Mode is now the third-largest chain in the Superchain, behind Base and Optimism Mainnet.
During phase 1, our focus was on building a secure foundation for scaling yield-bearing assets and DeFi applications. We are now entering phase 2, where we will support AI-enabled infrastructure and interfaces to scale DeFi to onboard billions of users. We call this next chapter AIFi. For more information on AIFi see Mode: Building The AIFi Economy.
Today we announce the open registration for the Mode AIFi Accelerator. This accelerator program is designed to further the growth of native projects within the Mode ecosystem, with a particular focus on projects building in the intersection of AI and DeFi.
We are already working with some of the most innovative and established projects in the space.
AI will be the main interface to the DeFi ecosystem. From payments, staking, lending, borrowing, perpetual contracts (perps), liquidity provision, yield farming, NFTs, to derivatives, DeFi has achieved a level of complexity in six years that traditional finance has taken centuries to develop. This complexity extends beyond the architecture of crypto applications themselves and permeates user experience. AI will abstract away such complexities and become the dominant entryway for DeFi users.
With that in mind, we are looking for builders and projects who are embedding AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning into their product or utilizing other DeFi primitives provided by our esteemed partners.
The Details
Mode AIFi Accelerator will run until the end of December 2024. To be eligible for the program, projects must be able to demonstrate meaningful innovation in AI X DeFi, with a speed to market by the end of the program.
Eligible projects can apply through this Application Form.
Eligibility
We firmly believe that as the AI enabled crypto ecosystem expands, DeFi will remain the linchpin of the crypto economy. In the past 12 months, we have witnessed a surge of novel and innovative onchain agent economies emerge to streamline the user experience in DeFi. Companies like Olas, Valory, Bittensor, and many others are enriching this data rich blockchain ecosystem.
Our first AIFi accelerator program is designed to push forward more AI innovation in DeFi with the user experience first approach. We encourage entrepreneurs to bring forth their groundbreaking AIFi concepts to our ecosystem, facilitating the growth and evolution of DeFi on our platform.
The program is stage agnostic. All stages of development are welcome to apply from prototype, testnet, to nearing mainnet launch. However, the preferred stage of the applicants is from working MVP to nearing mainnet launch. Projects already launched on mainnet Mode are unfortunately ineligible.
Dapps must launch on Mode network to receive rewards and be put forward for funding.
Focus Areas
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Yield Automation: finding the best yield in various DeFi categories through AI enabled automation
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Price or outcome prediction: machine learning prediction markets and trading strategy.
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Smart risk & portfolio management: automatically identify both market and social risks in assets and informs asset allocation
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Crypto fine-tuned llm (marketplace): llm models trained for crypto use and the trading of such models and model components
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Smart contract automation: AI embedded smart contracts
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AIFi wallets: AI-enabled end users facing wallets
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AI enabled treasury management: smart and automatic asset allocation strategies
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AI powered governance: governance decision made by AI
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Surprise us!
The winning cohort will be submitted on a rolling basis. The projects that are accepted to the program will be announced at the end of October. Participation in the accelerator program does not require any share or token exchanges. Within this program, a dedicated team will guide you through every step of your launch journey.
From brand assets and positioning design, security audit grant, token utility and quantitative emission simulation, partnership alignment, co-marketing strategies, and user incentives, we know how startups are built and we are ready to help build your next billion dollar company! Application Form
Snapshot of Incentive for applying
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$10mil in funding from Mode Angel Network
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$100K USDC prize money for the October cohort
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Exposure to Mode's ecosystem partners and all-star mentors who can assist your venture in taking off
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Direct line of communication with the Mode core team through a dedicated venture manager
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Bootstrap thousands of users and millions in TVL through Mode co-marketing brand exposure initiatives
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Credits from technology partners (Goldsky, Pyth, thirdweb, Across)
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Subsidized smart contract audits (via Optimism)
Evaluation
The evaluation committee will assess teams based on various factors, with particular emphasis on the novelty of the application, readiness for mainnet launch, compatibility with Mode (not deployed on other chains), and the thoughtfulness of the incentive design. The prize money aims to expedite the development and deployment of the product.Typical turn around is 2 weeks from application.
Application Form:
Here is the link to apply for the Mode Accelerator: Application Form
Deadline to apply: Oct 4th 2024
In the application, you'll be prompted with a series of questions to help us understand your team and product better. Additionally, we’d prefer if you upload your pitch deck or a demo video, no longer than 90 seconds, to walk us through your product.
All submissions will be thoroughly reviewed by the Mode core team. Admission decisions will be made on a rolling basis, so the sooner you apply, the sooner you'll receive a response!
More information see landing page: https://www.mode.network/mode-aifi-accelerator
More questions please reach out to Head of Incubation Amber - TG: amberzshi