Following the success of Mantle Scouts Program’s inaugural season, Mantle, the on-chain ecosystem built on Ethereum layer 2 (L2) Mantle Network, Ether liquid staking/restaking protocol mETH Protocol and the core contributor to omnichain Bitcoin asset FBTC, announced the launch of Mantle Scouts Program Season 2. With a mission to fuel innovation and ecosystem growth, the program now boasts a $5-million budget, a four-fold increase from Season 1’s $1 million, and an expanded cohort of 40 industry-leading Scouts – all with proven track records in identifying and nurturing promising crypto projects.
The Mantle Scouts Program was created to bring together experienced investors, reputable founders and thought leaders to accelerate the development of high-potential projects through targeted grants, mentorship, and strategic support. In the first season, Mantle onboarded 16 high-quality projects, many of which have become core participants and advocates for Mantle Ecosystem. Season 1 projects received active mentorship and support from Hashed, Comma3 Ventures, Gam3Girl Ventures and INIT Capital, who served as Scouts and helped amplify the technical, marketing and financial resources Mantle committed. The top AI consumer app, FIDE AI by Metafide, exemplifies the success of the Mantle Scouts Program Season 1. Having crossed over 2 million on-chain transactions to-date, Metafide emerged as the top performing project in Mantle’s AI Fest Campaign, at its peak contributing to 10% of all Mantle Network L2 transactions.
“We could not have asked for a better inaugural season, and we’re witnessing the dawn of something remarkable”, said Ivan Li, Founding Partner of Comma3 Ventures. “The level of innovation we have seen since our induction is a testament to Mantle’s ability to become a leading ecosystem for decentralized applications, primed to lead the next wave of decentralized innovation.”
Frank Speiser, CEO of Metafide, added: “With Mantle’s infrastructure and support, we’ve been able to scale quickly and effectively. The Scouts Program has been instrumental to our growth, and we are excited to champion Mantle’s vision — a future where decentralized applications can thrive with unparalleled support, creating the largest sustainable hub for financial and consumer on-chain applications to proliferate.”
The pilot season of the Mantle Scouts Program launched with breakthrough results, accelerating user acquisition and project development on Mantle Network. Beyond the initial grant, Mantle also prioritizes projects from the Mantle Scouts Program to receive support from complementary Mantle Ecosystem initiatives such as Mantle EcoFund and Sprinter Grants.
Following a successful pilot season, Mantle Scouts Program Season 2 has gone beyond double the number of Scouts, expanding from 16 to 40. This cohort will include experienced investors, top founders, and web3 thought leaders, with new additions to the Scout lineup including those from Delphi Ventures, Ethena and OrangeDAO.
Isaac Choo, Investment Principal at Mirana Ventures, the operator of Mantle EcoFund, commented: “Our Scouts have been outstanding partners for Mantle, leveraging their strong relationships with top founders to bring exceptional projects into the ecosystem. Their collective networks have also served as a valuable resource for founders looking to accelerate their growth. With the launch of Season 2, we’re excited to expand our efforts in identifying and empowering the next wave of innovative projects.”
Season 2 of the Mantle Scouts Program will launch in December 2024 and will run from January to June 2025. It is expected to onboard a diverse range of projects with a core focus on consumer, payments and AI applications, as well as projects that can integrate key ecosystems assets, such as FBTC, mETH / cmETH, aUSD from Agora Finance, and USDe from Ethena. Projects interested to participate in the program can visit the Mantle Scouts Website for the full list of Scouts and grant requirements.