Hey community! 
We are presenting ink!ubator 2.0 as a proposal to the Polkadot Treasury for continued innovation within the Polkadot ecosystem through projects utilizing ink! smart contracts. and ofc, we would like to hear the community thoughts first!
We have recently posted the ink!ubator 1.0 report and it is already finalised. But we would like to continue this initiative with the feedback and comments from the community.
Also, we are aware that there is a proposal to return the current funds from ink!ubator 1.0 to the Treasury, in this case, we will need to start the initiative from the beginning and set up the bounty again! (update: it is already decided, so we will need to start the initiate from scratch)
Please read the new proposed ink!ubator 2.0 and we would love to hear your feedback!!
Key highlights of the proposal:
Ecosystem grants focus:
We aim to incubate around 10+ high-potential projects, with each project receiving a grant in the range of $50,000 - $60,000. These funds will enable developers to focus on delivering innovative products that contribute to the Polkadot and ink! smart contract ecosystems.
Mentorship and guidance:
ink!ubator 2.0 will provide professional mentorship through active curators who will guide projects in the creation of ideas from inception to completion. The selection criteria for curators are stringent, based on deep technical and ecosystem development experience; hence, supported teams will be able to get the best resources possible.
What will be different from ink!ubator 1.0:
The experience gained from ink!ubator 1.0 has deeply influenced the development of ink!ubator 2.0. We have reimagined our curator selection process in such a way that the curators remain motivated and on board during the whole project life cycle. Second, the incubator has been streamlined because now it will focus only on ecosystem grants since those have been most productive concerning the effort and resource involved.
Also, we understand the issue of Transparency in the ink!ubator 1.0, so we aim to do even more frequent reports and post more detailed feedback on the GitHun for each application!
Curators panel:
Selection for our project is secured at the highest possible level of quality and innovation, hence we have reserved a panel of experienced curators bringing along wealth and hands-on experience from across Polkadot and ink! ecosystems:
- Michi (ex-Parity)
- W3F (Web3 Foundation)
- David Semakula
- R0GUE
- Sam Ruberti
- Facilitator: Toma Sadova
Why treasury support is critical:
Funding from the Polkadot Treasury is needed to both enable developers and ensure continued growth within the Polkadot network. Investments in ink! smart contracts are funding projects in the Treasury that have real value-add for Polkadot by empowering its technology and attracting new waves of innovating developers.
The requested support of 600,000 - 1,000,000 USD will enable ink!ubator 2.0 to:
- Deliver impactful projects that align with Polkadot’s vision.
- Empower developers to push the limits of decentralized technology.
- Strengthen Polkadot’s position as a leader in blockchain innovation.
What the future holds: Through ink!ubator 2.0, we aim to:
- Expand the reach and influence of ink! within the Polkadot ecosystem.
- Foster the development of scalable and sustainable decentralized solutions.
- Bring innovative tools and frameworks that contribute to Web3 and blockchain technology on a global scale.
- Together, with the Polkadot Treasury’s support, we can lay the foundation for the next era of decentralized innovation.
You can find the full proposal document below for a detailed breakdown:
