Solana’s Colosseum has successfully completed a $60 million funding round for its inaugural fund aimed at expanding its accelerator program for startups. The funds will be utilized for pre-seed investments in teams accepted into Colosseum’s Accelerator program, which is designed to attract more developers and startups into the Solana ecosystem.
“We established Colosseum with the goal of empowering founders to compete and bring their product vision to life without the geographical limitations of traditional accelerator models. It is clear that there is a growing demand in the crypto market for innovative, specialized venture products,” stated Clay Robbins, co-founder of Colosseum.
Colosseum is an independent organization that is dedicated to fostering the growth of the Solana ecosystem through various initiatives, including virtual hackathons and its accelerator program. Projects chosen for this program will receive a $250,000 pre-seed investment, as well as access to Solana’s network of mentors and venture funds.
Since January 2024, Colosseum has been at the forefront of Solana’s hackathons, taking over some of the foundation’s initiatives. Under the foundation’s management, the hackathons have drawn more than 60,000 participants in eight programs that have been running since 2020. Hackathon participants have reportedly launched 4,000 products and raised over $600 million in venture funding.
Earlier this year, Colosseum hosted its first hackathon for the Solana Foundation, attracting 8,000 builders from 95 countries. The program received over 1,000 product submissions during a five-week competition.
“We are dedicated to providing a space where both hackathon participants and accelerator founders have the necessary resources to thrive,” said Nate Levine, co-founder of Colosseum.
According to a spokesperson, the majority of venture-backed startups in the Solana ecosystem originated from Solana’s hackathons. Startups have raised over $650 million in venture capital, with total valuations reaching into the billions.
As of January 2024, the Solana ecosystem has seen an increase to over 2,500 monthly active developers on open-source repositories.