Polygon Labs Launches $85 Million Developer Fund to Attract Web3 Talent

On Thursday, Ethereum scaling solution Polygon Labs announced the launch of an $85 million grant program with the goal of attracting top Web3 talent to build on its network. The initiative will provide funding and support to promising projects across decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, social media, identity solutions, and more.

Polygon Labs to Expand Ecosystem with Grants

The grant program, offering up to $1.55 million per project, represents Polygon’s latest push to expand its ecosystem of over 7,000 decentralized applications.

Polygon Village is back, shinier, and better than ever.

With a grant program of more than 110 million in MATIC, deep mentoring, and ecosystem support, Village is the home for web3 founders.

Because it takes a village to build a unicorn.https://t.co/xoHG7LgjQG

A quick tour 🧵 pic.twitter.com/ck0SYf4Eb0

— Polygon (Labs) (@0xPolygonLabs) November 9, 2023

Polygon will distribute the grants in the form of its native MATIC token. In total, 110 million MATIC worth $85 million will be made available. Developers can apply for direct, larger grants or smaller quadratic funding grants, where donations from the Polygon community help determine grant recipients.

Fund Seeks to Attract Web3 Talent

The move comes as competition heats up between Polygon and rival layer 2 networks operating on Ethereum. Networks like Optimism and Arbitrum are similarly focused on providing scalability and low transaction fees to attract developers.

Polygon has become one of the leading Ethereum scaling solutions, with over 250 million total transactions processed. Congestion is still an issue during periods of peak demand, however. The developer grants seek to improve Polygon’s tech stack while expanding its decentralized app ecosystem.

The $85 million fund solidifies Polygon’s commitment to advancing Web3. With rising developer interest in blockchain technology, Polygon’s grants could catalyze the next generation of decentralized applications.