Tezos Foundation's Grant Program

A key activity of the Tezos Foundation is to deploy resources to entities and initiatives that will help to ensure the long-term success of the Tezos blockchain. Areas of interest for grants reflect some of our current needs, and we invite you to also reach out with your own unique ideas and innovations. We look forward to discovering your project! 

Our Grant Process

The grant process covers the three stages of Proposal, Award, and, if successful, Post-Award. For successful proposals, it takes on average four weeks to review a proposal and another four weeks to complete the necessary paperwork. It is essential that prospective grantees and their projects are evaluated diligently to ensure that the deployed resources add proportional value to the Tezos ecosystem.

Our evaluation process contains the following steps:

1 week
1

Proposal

Grant Proposal Submission

The Grant Process starts with a grant proposal submission.
The grant proposal should include central information on the proposed project and how the team intends to succeed.
This information can include, for example, functional and technical details of the proposed solution, its purpose, a roadmap, an introduction of the project team, evidence of familiarity with the Tezos ecosystem, anticipated value added to the Tezos ecosystem, and measures to assure the longevity of the solution beyond the grant duration.
After proposal submission, the proposal is vetted by the Tezos Foundation. The outcome of this step can be a forward for in-depth reviews, a revise and resubmit, or a decline.
Read more Read less
3 weeks
2

Award

Review and Final decision

If forwarded for in-depth review, the grant proposal is reviewed by ecosystem experts, supervised by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).
The TAC completes an in-depth due diligence process and develops recommendations on a proposal’s fit and usefulness to the Tezos ecosystem.
The TAC’s recommendations are then reviewed by the Executive Committee (EC) or the Tezos Foundation Council (FC) which then makes the final decision.
Final decisions about grant proposals, which can be an accept, decline, or a revise and resubmit, are then communicated to grant proposers.
Read more Read less
>4 weeks
3

Post-Award

Grant Agreement and Follow-Up

Approved applicants work on the legal paperwork to finalize a grant with the Tezos Foundation.
The grant agreement for the project and the corresponding payments are usually structured along milestones.
Once a milestone is completed, the grantee submits a report, which is reviewed and if approved, the payment for the milestone is issued.

After the project finished, the Tezos Foundation conducts regular check-ins to determine the prosperity of the project.
At this stage, the Tezos Foundation explores further collaboration opportunities with grantees and may offer to connect parties in the Tezos ecosystem with similar synergies.
Read more Read less

Areas of Interest

Grants are available for Tezos and Etherlink, a Smart Rollup Layer 2 solution.

Core Development

The Core Engineering and Infrastructure vertical support in the design, development and maintenance of the key software components that form the basis of the Tezos ecosystem, including the Tezos protocol, Octez and Smart Rollups. This is a collective effort of ecosystem teams – Nomadic Labs, Trilitech and Functori – where each team contributes their unique expertise to the development of the protocol and related infrastructure. These teams actively collaborate with infrastructure and tooling teams, ensuring seamless integration across the Tezos technology stack to offer optimal deployment targets for distributed applications.

Criteria: Core projects should ensure regular security and reliability audits.

Tech.Rel

The Tech.Rel Team focuses on supporting and engaging Tezos' key technical users, including developers, bakers, builders, and operators. The team ensures these users have a productive experience by providing comprehensive support, resources, and guidance. It actively captures feedback to improve product usability and incorporate this feedback into the roadmap. The team's mission is to empower technical users and enhance their interaction with Tezos products, ensuring both satisfaction and success.

Criteria: Projects should have clear objectives and goals, align with blockchain trends, demonstrate technical feasibility, and ensure sustainability and scalability. The proposals should address the needs of Tezos technical users, including bakers, builders, and integrators, in improving the usability, reliability, and adoption of the network.

Infrastructure & Tooling

The Infrastructure & Tooling Vertical for Tezos ensures the stability and performance of the Tezos blockchain by maintaining nodes, developing block explorers, and supporting smart contract languages like Michelson, Ligo and SmartPy. They handle core infrastructure development, including consensus algorithms and network protocols, and continuously optimize performance. The team creates and maintains essential tools like SDKs and APIs for developers to build, deploy, and manage dApps. Security is a top priority, with regular audits and rapid vulnerability resolution. Integration support enhances interoperability with other blockchains and technologies. Comprehensive documentation and resources are provided to help developers effectively utilize the Tezos infrastructure and tools.

Criteria: Projects should have a robust technical plan, demonstrate scalability and interoperability, ensure security and reliability, and provide comprehensive documentation and support.

Arts & Culture

Tezos has a rich history of art innovation through web3 native platforms like hic et nunc, objkt and fxhash. This dovetails with Tezos usage by globally famous institutions such as Musee d’Orsay and the Serpentine and a large number of entertainment projects including the likes of Manchester United and McLaren. The Arts and Culture vertical aims to find new and exciting ways for fans to get closer to the things they love most. Whether that is through art, sport, entertainment or other fandoms, the team is focused on supporting projects that fuel creativity and give users the chance to have a regular, deeper, more connected relationship with their passions.

Criteria: Projects should have a clear vision for regular, ongoing community engagement, promote creativity, diversity and inclusivity, foster education and understanding of Tezos. It is also crucial that all projects are backed with a strong lead/team with a clear path to onboarding users to their concept.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

The DeFi Vertical is dedicated to fostering a robust, thriving DeFi ecosystem within Tezos and its associated rollups. Our team is committed to promoting the growth and adoption of the Tezos blockchain in the decentralized finance domain. We collaborate closely with ecosystem teams, projects, and partners to enhance the success and impact of DeFi within Tezos and the broader Web3 community. Cryptocurrencies and the wider blockchain space at their core revolve around the idea of facilitating transfers of value online. This has led to the DeFi developments we’ve seen and continue to see and the DeFi grants program is all about facilitating the emergence of further quality DeFi and OpenFi apps on Etherlink and Tezos.

Criteria: Projects should have a secure and transparent technical framework, innovative financial solutions and robust risk management strategies. To ensure the security and reliability of DeFi projects built on our blockchain, all projects must undergo a comprehensive security audit conducted by a reputable and recognized third-party auditing firm, covering all smart contracts and relevant codebases.

Business Development

The Business Development Vertical for Tezos focuses on expanding blockchain adoption by forging strategic partnerships and driving growth initiatives. They establish relationships with enterprises, startups, incubators and universities to promote Tezos technology and facilitate its usage inside of these organizations. The team promotes ecosystem growth by supporting high-potential projects and developers, exploring new markets and use cases like finance and gaming. They engage with the Tezos community to foster collaboration and gather feedback. Additionally, they conduct educational events to increase awareness and understanding of Tezos.

Criteria: Projects should lead to Web3 on-chain adoption and strong channel partners. Initiatives to promote the Tezos ecosystem (events, hackathons, web3 hubs, incubators & accelerators). Proposals will be evaluated based on the target audience and expected outcome in terms of on-chain activity amongst other things.

Gaming

The Gaming vertical aims to make Tezos the most developer- and player-friendly blockchain. They work with game developers to discover new ways to create fun on the blockchain and pioneer new game genres with player-driven economies and player owned assets that support interoperability. The team also aims to empower and reward the community of early adopters and contributors within each game. The Gaming vertical collaborates with a wide range of partners, including game engines like Unity, AAA developers like Ubisoft and ambitious venture-backed games like MetaPals. Their vision is for a wide variety of high-quality games built on Tezos and enjoyed by millions of players.

Criteria: We support projects with high market potential, strong core gameplay, and capable teams. Our evaluation prioritizes user acquisition efficiency, strong retention metrics, and robust monetization potential. We seek meaningful Tezos integration that enhances gameplay and player value.

Call for Proposals

Apply now

Tezos Foundation uses cookies to provide you with the best possible service. By continuing to visit this website you agree to our use of cookies

Accept