Draper University launches in-person Cardano accelerator
Draper University, with Cardano Foundation and Orion Fund, opened a 10-week in-person Silicon Valley accelerator offering up to $70,000 for 3.5% equity to scale Cardano Web3 startups.
Draper University announced the Apex Growth Accelerator, a 10-week, fully in-person residency at its San Mateo campus that will provide seed funding of up to $70,000 for a target 3.5% equity stake. The program will host a single cohort of 10 companies beginning Oct. 12; applications close Sept. 1.
The accelerator is aimed at teams building on the Cardano blockchain. Program materials prioritize projects focused on real-world asset tokenization, institutional decentralized finance and enterprise blockchain infrastructure. Organizers say the residency is for investment-ready startups rather than early-stage consumer apps.
Daria Nikolaeva, Growth and Marketing Lead at Draper University, described the onsite format as producing “a different level of intensity,” and added that founders receive faster feedback and quicker investor introductions when co-located. The core program is fully on-site, with an optional four-week extension available after the residency ends.
The initiative is a collaboration with Cometa Labs, Draper Dragon’s in-house venture studio, and the Cardano Foundation, with additional support from Orion Fund. Byron Murphy, Head of Growth at Cometa Labs, stated, “We’ve moved beyond proving that tokenization works. The question now is what can be built on top of it,” and framed RWA tokenization and institutional DeFi as the infrastructure for accessing, owning and trading assets.
The accelerator takes equity rather than offering grants. Aaliyah Barker, Program Manager at Draper University, explained the equity model is intended to align founder outcomes with long-term ecosystem growth and said success will be measured by whether companies raise capital, win customers and sustain growth six to 12 months after the residency. The program will track indicators including total value locked and on-chain activity to evaluate contributions to the Cardano network.
The residency will conclude with a Demo Day where graduating teams present to a network of Web3 venture funds and institutional investors. Draper University will monitor company progress after the program to assess results and the impact on Cardano’s on-chain activity.
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