Apollo, the AI Accelerator

Powered by 0G and Stanford Builders

0G Apollo is an exclusive builder program supported by xBuilders (led by Stanford veterans) for developers and protocols building on the world's first decentralized AI data network.

Cohort 2 applications opening soon
10
Teams Selected
Up to
$2M*
Investment Per Project
4
Month Program
1
Demo Day

The Premier AI Accelerator

xBuilders, led by pioneers from Stanford, partners with 0G to bring you an intensive program designed to help founders build, launch, and scale projects with 0G infrastructure. Get hands-on support from industry experts and access to a world-class network, including the Stanford community.

Cohort 2 will be a four-month accelerator for up to 10 startups building on the 0G protocol, running November through February with a December build sprint, and closing with Demo Day on Stanford campus.

0G
×xBuilders

Partners

Google
×
Privy

Expert Mentorship

1:1 guidance from industry veterans and successful founders

Technical Support

Direct access to 0G protocol engineers and resources

Network Access

Connect with top VCs, partners, and fellow builders

Demo Day Exposure

Showcase your project to investors and the AI community

Spring 2026 · Wrapped

Cohort 1 Highlights

220+
Applications for 10 spots
100+
Intro requests from investors, enterprises, and partners since Demo Day
US$1.5M
Raised by alumni within 30 days of graduation
10/10
Teams at Demo Day

Apollo alumni are live on 0G Storage, Compute, and Chain — and actively building on mainnet.

Demo Day recording
Cohort 1 group photo at Stanford University
Cohort group photo
Graduation day session at Stanford
Stanford ceremony
Cohort 1 graduation dinner toast
Graduation dinner

What Cohort 1 founders say

“The Apollo and 0G team gets genuinely hands-on. We received detailed feedback across product, GTM, and fundraising, not just high-level advice. The program's partner network provided support at every step, and 0G actively introduced investors to our team throughout.”

Justin Bebis
Founder, UV Labs

“What I appreciated about the Apollo program was the range of exceptional people around the program, from the xBuilders team to mentors from Google and other companies and funds we have been introduced to. The program gave us great opportunities to present at events, while the 0G team has been amazing in organizing the program and are really supportive well after Demo Day!”

Alex Radu
Co-founder, Pulsar Money

“The Apollo mentors have been excellent on GTM, and the events the team organized generated real client leads for us. This is exactly what you want from a program.”

Jon Ozdoruk
Co-Founder, DSALTA

“Apollo gave us strong support from its mentors, and the 0G team went even further — they use our product at their own events. For a company building a professional network for agents, being embedded in this ecosystem is exactly the right place to grow.”

David Shao
Co-Founder, Walnut AI

“The Apollo mentors are expert in the places every startup needs, multiple deep-dive calls working through product market fit, fundraising, networking and much more. That kind of sustained, substantive help is uniquely Apollo Accelerator.”

Wyatt Benno
Co-Founder, ICME
Apollo Program

Meet Cohort 1 (Spring 2026).

10
Teams
18
Founders
3
Verticals

Exclusive Partner Perks

Reserved for the 10 selected Apollo teams. Infrastructure credits, security audits, and a pre-launch security analysis from our partner network.

Apollo cohort only
QuickNode logo
QuickNode
$5,000in QuickNode credits · over 6 months

Infrastructure credits to scale your nodes

  • Globally distributed RPC nodes with low-latency reads
  • Full dev toolkit: Webhooks, Streams & SQL Explorer
CertiK logo
CertiK
20% offon audits, pen tests & KYC

Audits, pen tests & KYC at cohort pricing

  • Fast-tracked priority audit & pen-test slots
  • Mention you're in the Apollo cohort for a direct line to CertiK BD
Octane logo
Octane
FreeAI-native security analysis

"Clear to Launch" pre-launch security analysis

  • One-time analysis across contracts, app logic, APIs, offchain services & dependencies
  • AI discovery + expert researcher validation → confirmed issues + remediation
1
2
3
4
5

Meet Your Mentors

Learn from industry leaders and Stanford veterans who will guide you through your Web3 journey

Michael Heinrich

Michael Heinrich

CEO at 0G Labs · Stanford Alumnus

Ming Wu

Ming Wu

CTO at 0G Labs

Weisi Yuen

Weisi Yuen

CSO/CPO at 0G Labs · MIT MBA · Ex-McKinsey & Amazon

Steven Willinger

Steven Willinger

GP · Blockchain Builders · Coinbase Ventures Lead · Ex-Google & Blockstream · Stanford GSB

Kun Peng

Kun Peng

GP · Blockchain Builders · Founder Stanford Blockchain Accelerator & BASS · Advisor to 40+ Startups

Gil Rosen

Gil Rosen

GP · Blockchain Builders · Exited Founder (Eccella) · 50+ Angel Deals · Stanford GSB

Eric Peter

Eric Peter

Venture Partner · AI Specialist · PM at Databricks & Google Cloud · Stanford GSB

Jason Scott

Jason Scott

Accelerator Ops · Lead Google For Startups Worldwide · Stanford GSB & MIT

Arne Hartmann

Arne Hartmann

CFO/COO at 0G Labs · Stanford GSB

Aytunç Yıldızlı

Aytunç Yıldızlı

CGO at 0G Labs · Ex-CEO Avax Foundation

George

George

Strategic Partnership Lead at 0G Labs · Venture Partner · Stanford School of Medicine

Madeleine Charity

Madeleine Charity

Product Engineer at Privy

Patrick Chang

Patrick Chang

Founder & Managing Partner · Dispersion Capital

Bon S

Bon S

Field CTO at Google · Driving AI/ML & Web3 Innovation

Peter Norvig

Peter Norvig

AI Legend · Stanford · Ex-Google Director of Research

B

Bruno Rodrigues

Cloud Architect & AI Ambassador at Google for Startups · GCP Architecture & Optimization

Anand Iyer

Anand Iyer

Managing Partner · Canonical

Ben Biran

Ben Biran

Founder/CTO at ACRONYM · Ex-Director of Eng at Zapier & Plaid

Scott Shi

Scott Shi

CTO & Co-founder · KiteAI

Marcus Hølland Eikeland

Marcus Hølland Eikeland

Director of Programs at LUMO Labs · Accelerators & Fundraising

Thomas Hay

Thomas Hay

Senior Staff Product Manager, Decentralized Infrastructure · Consensys

Alex

Alex

Hack VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about the program

The program is designed for ambitious AI founders and builders creating revenue-generating products. It is ideal for early-stage to growth stage teams ready to build and integrate with 0G’s infrastructure, and achieve product market fit and go to market traction. Only 10 teams will be selected globally for this intensive cohort.
xBuilders is comprised of veteran founders, operators, and investors who have extensive experience running accelerators across Blockchain, Fintech, and AI. The xBuilders team founded and has operated the Stanford Blockchain Accelerator for the last 5 years, helping 85+ projects collectively raise over $1B from leading funds with multiple unicorn successes. The team has also run AI accelerators for Cornell/IC3, and has extensive experience building and operating the Google for Startups accelerator program for dozens of cohorts across AI, innovation, and software technologies. Accelerator programming is based on Stanford University’s startup methodologies and courses, and the extensive experience of the team as founders, operators, and across the SBA, Google for Startups, StartX, and Cardinal Ventures.
Teams actively building AI projects with a potential for revenue generation, and teams available for the 4-month program.
No strict exclusivity is required upfront, but the program is built around helping teams launch and scale on the 0G protocol. Accepted teams receive deep integration support, technical mentorship from 0G engineers, and incentives tied to building/deploying on 0G (e.g., funding calibrated to roadmap and traction on the network). It’s not a lock-in, but the value—funding, credits, tools, and mentorship—is heavily geared toward projects that commit to and succeed on 0G. Multi-chain or hybrid approaches may be considered if they meaningfully leverage 0G’s strengths (speed, decentralization for AI).
The 4-month program is primarily remote, except for an in-person Demo Day towards the end of the program.
Cohort 2 kicks off in November 2026 — the exact date is to be confirmed.
Soon! to be notified the moment Cohort 2 applications open.
Cohort 1 wrapped up in July 2026: 10 teams graduated at Stanford, alumni raised US$1.5M within 30 days of graduation, and every team presented at Demo Day. Check out the Cohort 1 highlights for the full story, photos, and the Demo Day recording.

4-Month Journey

Four months end to end. Eight weeks of structured programming either side of a December build sprint, with Demo Day in the final week of the January–February block.

Month 1

November · 4 weeks

  • 01Overview & Plan
  • 02Product Strategy
  • 03AI Module
  • 04Tech Deep Dives
Month 2

December → mid-January

Focused build against OKRs. Two weeks of team check-ins, no scheduled content, programming picks up again in January.

Month 3

January – February · 4 weeks

  • 05Go-to-Market
  • 06People, Ops & Legal
  • 07Fundraising & Demo Prep
  • 08Demo Day & Graduation

Stanford IRL Event

In-person sessions and networking at Stanford University with mentors, investors, and fellow founders.

Demo Day

Present your company to investors and the AI community at our virtual Demo Day. Final OKR grading, debriefing, and retrospective.

Graduation Party

Celebrate your achievements, connect with the alumni network, and kick off the next chapter of your venture.

Ready to Accelerate?

Cohort 2 applications are opening soon. Join the waitlist and be the first to know when they go live.

Questions? apollo@0g.ai