The Avalanche infraBUIDL() Program is designed to fortify the Avalanche ecosystem by supporting infrastructure projects that enhance user and developer experience. By providing direct and milestone-based retroactive funding, infraBUIDL() aims to attract top-tier talent and foster a community of dedicated developers who will contribute to the advancement of Avalanche Network.
Objectives:
- Strengthen Avalanche Infrastructure and tooling by supporting projects building on Avalanche.
- Attract top talent and innovative projects that align with the Foundation’s mission.
- Foster a community of infrastructure builders developing on Avalanche.
Target audience: Developers and teams building infrastructure projects for the Avalanche ecosystem.
Scope
For this purpose, infraBUIDL() will fund infrastructure projects demonstrating innovation or strategic importance to the broader Avalanche ecosystem and the area of distributed computing. The scope includes but is not limited to:
- On & Offramps
- Validator marketplaces
- Virtual Machines
- Wallets
- Oracles
- Interoperability tools
- Cryptography
- Bridges
- Explorers
- RPCs
- Data storage
- Indexers
- Token Engineering
Funding Structure
infraBUIDL() will implement a hybrid funding model, combining a component of direct funding with milestone-based funding.
Direct Grants will be awarded upfront, offering the essential funding for developers to achieve the initial milestone.
Milestone-based funding will be distributed after the completion of the Direct Grants, providing additional funding for developers who have successfully met their stated milestones.
The percentage of the grant assigned to direct and retroactive funding will be decided on an ad-hoc basis, considering the needs of the teams as well as their expertise and likelihood to deliver successful outcomes.
Grant tiers:
Grant amounts will be determined on a case-by-case basis, considering factors such as:
- Project complexity and the effort required
- Strategic importance to the Avalanche ecosystem
- Level of innovation
Based on these criteria, funding amounts are generally structured as follows:
- Small-scale projects: up to $100,000
- Medium-scale projects: $100,000 - $250,000
- Large-scale projects: projects that request greater funding are encouraged to apply for consideration.
Application Process
Eligibility Criteria
- Projects must align with the Avalanche ecosystem and the Foundation’s mission statement, as well as with the goals and scope of the infraBUIDL() program.
- Proposals should demonstrate how the project will contribute to improving the Avalanche infrastructure landscape and how it fills the current and/or future needs of current and/or future Avalanche users, developers, and/or Avalanche L1s.
- Projects should demonstrate the team’s technical expertise and ability to implement the project successfully within the proposed timeline and budget.
- Projects that are receiving other grants or funding from the Avalanche Foundation may be disqualified from receiving this grant on a case-by-case basis.
Application Requirements
Teams must submit a project proposal including:
- Project description, including goals, expected use cases, and potential benefits for the Avalanche ecosystem;
- A detailed roadmap;
- A budget proposal with suggested milestones for the retroactive funding;
- List of project-specific KPIs;
- A section detailing the team background and skills;
- Contact details
In addition to the project documents, teams should submit repositories, past achievements, and/or any documents that speak of the team’s technical competence, prior experience in similar projects, and the feasibility of the proposal.
Application Platform
All applicants must submit a form through https://www.avax.network/infrabuidl-program.
Evaluation Process
Selection Committee
Proposals will be reviewed by a committee comprising representatives from the Avalanche Foundation, and experienced infrastructure builders within the Avalanche ecosystem.
Evaluation Criteria
Projects will be evaluated based on their adherence to eligibility criteria as well as the potential positive impact on and alignment with Avalanche ecosystem’s strategic interests and needs. The selection committee will prioritize projects that are likely to succeed and drive significant growth to the Avalanche ecosystem and/or be of benefit to the Avalanche ecosystem.
Monitoring & Reporting
Projects must commit to keeping open and periodic communication with the Avalanche Foundation and to submit regular progress reports and milestone reviews the frequency of which will be determined on a case-by-case basis. These reports should include:
- Project status.
- Progress made since last update.
- Challenges faced since last update, if any.
Once the project is finalized, teams must submit a Final Report.
Legal and Compliance
- Recipients are required to enter into standard Grant Agreements
- Recipients will be required to provide necessary information and documentation to allow the Avalanche Foundation to conduct necessary background checks. This may include, but is not limited to, proof of identity, address verification, and other relevant details as required by applicable regulations.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions that include ANY of the following characteristics will not be approved:
- Gambling (including prediction markets), drugs, or firearm;
- Illicit trade, money laundering, or any criminal activity;
- “Virtual Asset Services,” including public token launches and holding/selling/issuing/exchanging virtual assets on behalf of others;
- Projects focused on using token as a financial instrument (including token distributions, creating a new token, making investments and generating returns, buyback or dividend features, exchange listings for $AVAX or other tokens, etc.);
- Any provision of funds (direct or indirect) to sanctioned persons or projects involving such persons, and any project team applying for funding shall have done its due diligence prior to making any application for funding and shall, at the request of the Avalanche Foundation provide copies or evidence of such due diligence having been undertaken and the outcome of that due diligence investigation;
- Requests for endorsement from the Avalanche Foundation; or
- Projects where any member of the team is based in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, or any other country or jurisdiction sanctioned by OFAC.
In addition, the following are not permitted in any projects that are funded by the Avalanche Foundation:
- Hateful Content - No racist, sexist, or otherwise hateful speech, no discrimination;
- Deceiving Users - Malicious content that could cause harm or unintended consequences to users;
- Falsification - Any type of hacking to falsify a contribution is prohibited. No encouraging or enabling Sybil attacks or other forms of malicious manipulation;
- Fraud & Impersonation - Claiming to be a brand or person you are not: the Grant owner must be directly affiliated with the project and the funds must go to the project and be used for the purposes stated in the Grant’s details;
- Quid Pro Quo & Bribery - The Grant may not have any form of quid pro quo that has financial value (a scenario in which a user gets some additional unique benefit/award in return for their donation);
- Advertising - Using Grants to showcase something you are selling, like a token sale or NFT drop;
- Grantees may not be subject to sanctions, and funding cannot be used in violation of any applicable law, rules, or regulations (for example, those addressing sanctions, financing of terrorism, and anti-money-laundering); and
- Grantees can be eliminated from consideration in the round if they are found to be encouraging or enabling Sybil attacks or other forms of malicious manipulation.
The Avalanche Foundation reserves the right to take such action as it considers appropriate in the event that any of the foregoing is breached (including but not limited to canceling any commitment to fund or the project being required to return amounts already funded).
