a16z Crypto Unveils CSX Fall 2024 Cohort of 21 Startups

a16z Crypto has announced the 21 startups selected for its Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX) Fall 2024 program, set to commence this week in New York City. Participants will engage in an exhaustive eight-week program intended to deliver direct insights from top crypto entrepreneurs, mentorship from a16z’s investment and operational teams, and chances to forge connections within the larger a16z network, according to a16z crypto.

Global Diversity

The chosen startups represent 11 countries across the globe, including Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Poland, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the US (including Puerto Rico). These companies are developing a diverse range of projects within the crypto ecosystem, covering artificial intelligence (AI), decentralized finance (DeFi), infrastructure, along with consumer apps like photo sharing and mapping.

Featured Startups

The CSX Fall 2024 cohort comprises:

• Anera Labs: Developing liquidity infrastructure that integrates all on-chain liquidity.
• Banyan: Employs AI to bridge communication gaps at the workplace and enhance clarity within the enterprise.
• Blocksense: Facilitates the creation of oracles that can utilize internet data and CPU/GPU computations.
• Cork Protocol: A risk pricing protocol that accelerates on-chain credit.
• Dot: Converts user-created pixel art into game pieces for on-chain games.
• Fermah: Working on a universal zero-knowledge proof generation layer.
• Future Primitive: Creating a new platform for internet photo enthusiasts.
• Kuzco: A marketplace focused on LLM inference.
• MeshMap: Constructing a 3D map of the world integrated with a network of AR content.
• Opacity Labs: Privately verifies web2 data using zkTLS.
• OpenGradient: Developing a blockchain intended to harness the world’s compute on-chain.
• PIN AI: Creating an open platform for personal AI (data+agents).
• Pod: A novel L1 primitive that is blockless, leaderless, and relaxes the definition of transaction total ordering.
• Sekai: Simplifies the creation, sharing, and monetization of interactive narratives.
• Skyfire: An open payment protocol enabling AI agents to pay for anything.
• Suave: Allows DApps to accept any token from any wallet across various blockchains.
• t1: Facilitates real-time proof generation to unify Ethereum.
• TACEO: MPC encrypted computing tailored for Web3.
• Term Labs: A DeFi lending platform that connects borrowers and lenders at fixed interest rates.
• vlayer labs: Trustless verifiable data infrastructure driven by zero-knowledge proofs.
• zkSpin: Developing a highly parallel blockchain for demanding DApps on-chain.

Looking Ahead

This marks the second CSX cohort of 2024, succeeding the Spring program in London, which wrapped up with a Demo Day in June. The forthcoming CSX cohort is scheduled to take place in San Francisco in Spring 2025, with applications set to open in early January. a16z CSX commits a minimum of $500,000 in funding for each accepted startup, providing substantial financial backing to assist these companies in achieving product-market fit.

Congratulations to all the companies in the CSX Fall 2024 cohort as they embark on this promising journey.

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