In brief

  • The Filecoin Launchpad Accelerator is now accepting applications from startups.
  • The ConsenSys Labs/Protocol Labs program aims to increase Filecoin adoption.
  • Teams will be given $80,000 apiece along with mentorship and assistance.

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ConsenSys Labs’ Tachyon Web3 accelerator program is back again this autumn. To kick things off, ConsenSys Labs has launched an accelerator with Protocol Labs, the creator of decentralized storage protocol Filecoin.

Powered by the Tachyon Accelerator, the Filecoin Launchpad Accelerator will accept between 15 and 20 startup teams that are building Ethereum projects that incorporate elements of IPFS, a peer-to-peer protocol for decentralized file sharing and web hosting, or Filecoin, a marketplace for decentralized file sharing.

Filecoin allows users to essentially rent out their excess computer storage space to others for a fee. Data is spliced into portions and spread across multiple devices. Because the network is distributed, data won't be lost in case a single hard drive or server fails.  The protocol raised $257 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017 and it’s currently in testnet. 

The Accelerator will provide teams with $80,000 each for a 12-week program that includes mentorship from both Protocol Labs and ConsenSys (which funds an editorially independent Decrypt). Following a demo day at the end of the accelerator program, the Accelerator will help the teams raise funds. 

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This is the first time that the Tachyon accelerator has been presented in partnership with Protocol Labs, but the timing makes sense: the Protocol will launch the incentivized Filecoin testnet next week (i.e., a testnet that uses real money) in advance of a planned mainnet launch sometime this quarter. With the initiative, Protocol and ConsenSys Labs aim to increase the usage of Filecoin within Ethereum and its burgeoning decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.

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According to the program page, more than two dozen mentors and speakers have signed up to help guide the Filecoin Launchpad Accelerator startups, including ConsenSys founder and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, ChainSafe co-founder and CEO Aidan Hyman, and MetaMask lead developer Dan Finlay. (Disclosure: Decrypt co-founder Ryan Bubinski, who previously co-founded Codecademy, is also on that list.)

The Filecoin Launchpad Accelerator is currently accepting applications through August 21, with the fully remote program set to take place from mid-September through December.

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