Leaders in Web3 | Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator: Recent Episodes
Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator
Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator incubates crypto-asset and blockchain technology use cases at the University of California, Berkeley. We have incubated 65 alumni teams which have secured over $400M in follow-on funding. We invite Web3 leaders to share their personal stories and industry knowledge.
Aplo (previously known as SheeldMarket) is an EU-registered broker that offers financial institutions fast, direct, and secure access to a multitude of digital assets through a single trading platform: one market to rule them all. A Fall 2019 alumnus of Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator, SheeldMarket is a story of friendship and constant hustle.
Moon is a crypto challenger bank and BaaS platform uniquely suited to enable Bitcoiners, crypto natives, and the un/underbanked to live on crypto. It seeks to serve the least fortunate among us — the billions of globally un/underbanked who are excluded from the modern financial system.
Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator is a non-dilutive program that incubates top entrepreneurs and scientists from around the world. There are 65 alumni teams which have secured over $400 MM in follow-on funding.
Metaengine is a game development engine native to Web3 and metaverse use cases. Built for massive multiplayer experiences and real time collaborative development, it is a new way for users to engage with game worlds and for developers to create for these worlds.
Nodle enables anyone with a smartphone to earn through Nodle Cash, built on Polkadot Substrate. It began as a crowdsourced IoT network with 30 million devices and sensors. Micha Benoliel is not only the cofounder of Nodle, but also, the founder of FireChat which helped pro-democracy students around the world through a decentralized "giant smartphone infrastructure."
Mooch is an automatic budgeting app for your bills, expenses, and savings. It provides you digital envelopes that earn interest on cryptocurrency and smart contract applications, wherein you earn interest through DeFi. Mooch is a recent alum of Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator. Hear from Richard Velasquez, the founder, about his personal journey.
OPGames is a Cohort 3 alum: gaming platform, protocol, and community in Web 3.0 that pushes the boundary of token incentive mechanisms and non-fungible tokens (NFT). Hear from Chase Freo, CEO and cofounder, about doing his first startup in the blockchain space, raising a seed round of $8.5+ MM, and building a team of 30+ people.
Acala is a first-of-its-kind decentralized finance (DeFi) platform to bring economic stability, liquidity, and accessibility to the mainstream. It is the cross-chain hub for the Polkadot ecosystem. Check out the cofounder's story about taking great personal risks, becoming enamored with a new passion, and living true to purpose for the benefit of others.
Pinata is a technology backbone for non-fungible token (NFT) creators in the decentralized world of Web 3.0. Through the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), they enable us to upload, manage, and share content whenever, wherever, and with whomever we want. Pinata is a portfolio alum of Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator.
StormX has raised over $30 million to empower anyone to earn anywhere, anytime, from any device. Check out the founder's inspirational story of being a broke student, starting a taco business, supporting family, moving into blockchain, and helping others make a living for themselves.