- The NEAR Base Camp accelerator is a virtual Web3 program presented by NEAR Foundation and Outlier Ventures.
- The NEAR Base Camp accelerator is NEAR Foundation’s inaugural dedicated accelerator program, supporting a cohort of seven startups building on NEAR and leveraging NEAR Discovery to redefine the Web3 user experience to help onboard one billion users into Web3.
- The 12-week accelerator program provides the selected cohort with market leading mentorship, education and up to $100,000 in funding with the option of additional support and $20,000 service credits provided by NEAR Horizon.
Global, 19th September, 2023 – Today, NEAR Foundation, the leading non-profit that supports the on-going growth and development of the Near Protocol and Outlier Ventures, the leading global Web3 investor and accelerator, announced the cohort of seven teams for the inaugural NEAR Base Camp accelerator program. The first dedicated accelerator program by NEAR Foundation is focused on taking a cohort of the most promising early-stage startups focused on building sustainable Web3 solutions to help on board the next billion users into Web3.
The seven chosen companies are working to build projects with real world, utility-based use cases that attract Web2 users and companies while leveraging Web3 in novel ways to enhance the web experience. NEAR Foundation and Outlier Ventures are pleased to announce the seven companies that will take part in the program: Glass, HackQuest, Meteor Wallet, Quidli, QSTN, Shred Spots and V-Art.
“The selected cohort truly reflects the very best talent of the Web3 ecosystem,” said Laura Cunningham, General Manager of NEAR Foundation. “The companies chosen for this programme will gain access to a range of benefits and support that will help them scale up quickly and thrive in a highly competitive environment.”
“We are really excited to announce our inaugural cohort with NEAR Foundation on the NEAR Base Camp accelerator program,” said Fabio Maffioli, Head of Base Camp at Outlier Ventures. “The selected cohort of exceptional founders represents a leading group of Web3 teams who are dedicated to enriching the digital landscape and transforming the web experience for users across the globe through Web3 technology. Their collective passion and drive are why we exist as a business and we are honoured to help them on this journey.”
During the course of the program the cohort will receive individual support to help the founders develop their business. The selected group will have a highly curated program with support from a global network of leading mentors including Web3 thought leaders, builders, investors and connectors in support of their future fundraising efforts. The teams will receive support from Outlier Ventures and NEAR Foundation’s in-house experts on critical elements of their business, including developing product roadmaps, community building, entity structuring, and more.
Meet the cohort:
Glass (USA)
GLASS is the first web3 community & rewards platform purpose-built for the $1.6 trillion alcohol industry. GLASS members earn tokens from their favorite brands by buying drinks, meeting up with friends at bars, and more, and then use those tokens to unlock rewards from free drinks to VIP events – all atop a compliance protocol that manages complex alcohol regulations.
HackQuest (USA)
HackQuest is the gateway to the Web3 development world, providing a comprehensive, one-stop educational infrastructure that minimizes friction and helps onboard developers and non-developers to the world of Web3.
Meteor Wallet (Singapore)
Meteor Wallet is more than just a wallet – it’s your go-to, simplified, secure portal for your multi-chain crypto journey.
As the leading wallet team on NEAR and the official maintainers of the official wallet, Meteor has proven expertise with over 30,000 wallets under management
Quidli (France)
Quidli aims to become a social middle layer for Web3. Their add-ons upgrade Web 2.0 platforms (starting with Discord & Slack) into web3 super-apps with micro on-ramping services that allow users to send crypto to group members.
QSTN (USA)
QSTN is a revolutionary survey marketplace where users earn NFTs and tokens for completing surveys tracked on-chain. The data wallet allows users to store their info on-chain and dispose them freely for monetization
Shred Spots (USA)
ShredSpots – next-gen social app for the “Cool Kids” in love with extreme sports and street art. In partnership with major industry players, SS is on a mission to be the dominant app for all the rebel, artistic, and brave shredders out there.
V-Art (USA)
V-Art is a web3 automated IP licensing solution for brands, artists, and AI developers who want to streamline the licensing process, monetize content, and eliminate legal risks.
For more information, please visit: https://outlierventures.io/base-camp/
ENDS
About NEAR Foundation
NEAR Foundation is a non-profit that supports the growth and development of the NEAR ecosystem and the Blockchain Operating System (BOS), a full stack Web3 development and app distribution platform at the heart of an open web. The BOS is compatible with all blockchains, making it the entry point to the open web for users and developers alike. Founded on the principles of openness and sustainability, the NEAR Foundation is driven by the vision of putting information and technology in the service of humanity rather than political or corporate interests.
For more information, please visit: NEAR Foundation
About NEAR Horizon
NEAR Foundation recently launched NEAR Horizon, a startup support platform revolutionizing how founders are supported in Web3. Made possible through the initial partnerships with Dragonfly, Pantera, Lyric, Fabric Ventures, Decasonic, Hashed, and others, NEAR Horizon will enable founding teams to scale their projects with a wide range of support. This support will, in turn, enable the rapid growth of great products with real-world value in the NEAR ecosystem. Read more here. Register to NEAR Horizon here.
Media Contacts:
Outlier Ventures
Nicola Staines
Head of Communications nicola.staines@outlierventures.io
