Round 7 closes 12 Dec
Grants for teams that ship
We fund wallets, payment tools, infrastructure and research on Oriel. No equity and no lockups: you get paid as each milestone ships.
- Paid out
- $48.6M
- Teams funded
- 412
- Typical decision
- 6 weeks
Programs
Four programs, one review standard
Builder grants
$25k to $250k
For teams shipping wallets, payments and infrastructure. Two rounds a year with a theme.
Research fellowships
$90k a year
Twelve months of paid research in cryptography, consensus or economics.
Scope
What we fund, and what we don't
We fund
- Open-source code that other teams can reuse
- Products with a clear first user and a date to ship
- Audits, tooling and docs that nobody else pays for
- Research that ends in a paper and working code
We don't fund
- Token launches, airdrops or market making
- Marketing budgets without a product behind them
- Work that is already finished
- Closed forks of open Oriel code
Process
From application to first payment
- ApplyA short form, no deck needed
- Call30 minutes with two reviewers
- DecisionWithin six weeks of the round closing
- MilestonesPaid in two to four tranches
Recent grants
Paid this quarter
Questions
Before you apply
Do you take equity or tokens?
No. Grants are gifts tied to milestones. You keep everything you build.
Can individuals apply?
Yes. About a third of our grants go to people working alone or in pairs.
Does the code have to be open source?
Code funded by a builder grant ships under an open licence. Products on top of it can be closed.
How are grants paid?
In USDC or ORL, your choice, in tranches after each milestone is reviewed.
What if a milestone slips?
Tell us early. We move dates often; we stop paying only when work stops.
Who reviews applications?
Two reviewers from the foundation and one from the community, named on the round page.
Have something to build on Oriel?
The application takes about 20 minutes. A reviewer replies within ten working days, whatever the answer.
