This is a segment from The Drop newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe . Crypto accelerator Alliance DAO has announced its latest cohort of 20 startups: the ALL14. They received over 1,700 applications this time around. Accepted startups will join the three-month accelerator to further build their businesses. The first two weeks are in-person, and the remaining weeks occur remotely. Typically, accelerators offer connections, networking and guidance in exchange for some equity in the startup that is accelerated. This accelerator includes lectures, one-to-one mentorship, weekly check–ins and a demo day. Alliance DAO, formerly known as DeFi Alliance, counts other founders, lawyers, liquidity providers and auditors among its members. “We only require a $450k investment in your company (at unparalleled, founder-friendly terms). We’ve learned that our best performing teams actually do want us to have skin-in-the-game,” the group’s website states. Alliance says its median startup raises $3.5 million after the program. VCs like Paradigm, Dragonfly, and Multicoin have invested in Alliance-accelerated startups in the past. About the cohort Solana and Ethereum were the most-used chains by startups that applied to ALL14, and Base was the most-used L2. 35% of admitted teams are focused on AI, while 30% are focused on stablecoin innovations, a sign that both are continuing to trend in the startup world. Alliance’s latest cohort offers an interesting glimpse into the future of crypto, AI, and where things might go from here. Whet your appetite with some of these names: Slop Club Poof Wootzapp Some of the teams’ pedigrees are pretty impressive, though. Think founders that are also Stanford engineers, have had stints at billion-dollar firms, or have worked at prior startups with top Silicon Valley investors before starting their new thing. A list of the crypto-focused: 8020 (Moonshot for Asia) Zabio (P2P stablecoin exchange for LATAM) Lemonade Payments (Crypto payments in Africa) Zynk Labs (Instant crypto settlements) Fido (DeFi-powered neobank) Guess.best (opinion-based betting market) Junction (cross-chain DeFi toolkit) Ripe (stablecoin payments for Asia) Orbit (AI assistant for DeFi trading) Poof (vibe coding for dApps) Seismic (encrypted blockchain) Offline protocol (communication, payments without internet) GrandmAIsters (AI agent chess arena game) FactCheck (stablecoin-incentivized fact-checking) Others in the cohort : Slop Club (Tiktok for AI videos) Freedom GPT (Pagerank for AI) Wootzapp (Private data crowdsourcing for AI training) Afterschool (AI tutor) CollectiveScience (Academic peer review tool) CreatorGen (AI avatar marketplace) Alliance also hosted an IRL event this week: Yesterday was demo day at @alliancedao . It’s been a pleasure to be part of ALL14 full of such incredible people with the best energy and vibes. Super grateful to @QwQiao ’s who’s original post of wanting to invest in subversive tech made me apply and his consequent vote of… pic.twitter.com/K7pc2cjeux — satvik (@sxtvik) April 30, 2025 The application window for the next cohort closes on May 28. Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters: Blockworks Daily : Unpacking crypto and the markets. Empire : Crypto news and analysis to start your day. Forward Guidance : The intersection of crypto, macro and policy. 0xResearch : Alpha directly in your inbox. Lightspeed : All things Solana. The Drop : Apps, games, memes and more. Supply Shock : Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.
