Introduction

After a few months of successfully running of the Neutron Grants Program (NGP), we are delighted to announce a new initiative to support builders and entrepreneurs within the ecosystem — The Neutron Innovators Program (NIP). The NIP is a form of grant offered by the NGP. It offers talented builders working on cutting-edge applications, protocols, and infrastructure on Neutron a monthly stipend to continue their work. This stipend will vary from anywhere between $1000 per month to up to $6,000 per month depending on the individual receiving the stipend, the time they are able to spend building on Neutron, and the quality of their application. Unlike normal NGP grants, this grant funding will offer the flexibility to allow NIP grantees to work on whatever they judge to be best, insofar as they can justify the value it could potentially add to Neutron.

Each NIP grantee will have regular check-ins with members of the NGP and the Neutron core team to discuss the work they’re doing, as this will offer a good chance for us to identify synergies and also allow us to hold the grantees accountable without being too prescriptive. The goal of this program is predicated on our belief that giving talented individuals the freedom to experiment and work on what they judge is more interesting is the best way to create long-term value for Neutron by creating unique and useful applications in the premier permissionless environment of the Cosmos.

Focus Areas

We are open to grantees working on anything that falls within the NGP’s general mandate, which includes:

• User Experience Applications: Tools and apps that directly benefit end-users.
• Developer Resources: Initiatives to enhance developer experience, including documentation and infrastructure.
• Core Protocol Development: Efforts aimed at optimizing the Neutron blockchain.
• User Interface Infrastructure: Enhancements to wallet integration, MEV mitigation, and other user-facing elements.
• Collaborative Funding: Joint ventures with other Cosmos ecosystem teams to foster collective growth.
• Education and Research: Projects aimed at educating users and advancing technical research beneficial to Neutron.

However, we will have an explicit focus on NIP grantees who are working on unique applications that attempt to bring new, useful, and interesting experiences to our industry and Cosmos in particular. Some examples of things we find interesting include:

• Social applications, especially those that leverage the interchain nature of Cosmos
• Generalized restaking
• Crypto games and gamified experiences
• Trust-minimized Delta-neutral vaults and trading strategies

We note, however, that the point of this program is to give grantees the freedom to decide what they work. Hence, we are completely open to any and all suggestions of the focus that a grantee decides.

Next Steps

Anyone interested in joining the Neutron Innovators Program should email grants@neutrongrants.com with an overview of your background, a resume/GitHub/personal website, and links to any previous work that would be relevant to your application. We are open to all profiles and backgrounds and encourage you to apply if you are interested in building unique things on Neutron!