Introducing DIA Labs

We are excited to announce the launch of DIA Labs, a grants and acceleration program designed to drive the development of building blocks for the DeFi ecosystem.

What is DIA Labs?

DIA Labs is a program that offers funding, operational and network support for contributions to the DeFi and data realm as well as the DIA platform. The goals of DIA Labs are threefold:

1. To provide builders that are interested in building services and products that contribute to the DeFi and data realm with the support and funding needed to bring their contributions to completion and operationalisation.
2. To support the development of building blocks that are available free and open-source to the entire DeFi community to accelerate the evolution and maturity of the ecosystem.
3. To improve the DIA platform and support the ecosystem’s adoption of a transparent, open-source oracle and data infrastructure.

What are the Benefits of DIA Labs?

Projects that are accepted to DIA Labs will receive various supportive activities to reach their targets:

1. Funding: Projects that are accepted for DIA Labs will receive funding of up to USD 250.000 to help them reach their goals. The amount of funding depends on the project and its specific needs and milestones.
2. Operations: DIA Labs can provide operational support, along the entire value chain from strategy over technical implementation to marketing and communications, wherever needed.
3. Exposure: In addition to funding and operational support, DIA Labs will provide access to a broad network of external resources, ranging from a team of specialist mentors to contacts to the ecosystem for business development, communications additional funding opportunities and more.

As each project and team are individual, the support each project receives will be tailored to their specific needs.

Who is this for?

Anyone can apply for DIA Labs, the organisational form does not matter. From individual builders to newly formed startups, scale-ups, mature organisations, or associations, anyone can apply as long as their project meets the qualitative criteria.

DIA Labs is targeted at two main categories of projects: ‘Tooling’ and ‘Building’. ‘Tooling’ projects are endeavours that are focussing on open-source building blocks for the benefit of the entire ecosystem, ‘Building’ projects are those that are focussed on products and services that also support the evolution of the ecosystem, albeit relying on proprietary solutions.

Project Types

While DIA Labs is open to any and all suggestions for projects, we propose a range of criteria that applying projects should ideally meet. In addition, we have defined and continually update a wishlist of categories and projects that we see as relevant additions to both the DIA and the DeFi ecosystems.

1. Data Sourcing: At its core, DIA is a data sourcing platform. DIA Labs supports projects that enable or support efficient and trustable data sourcing.
2. DeFi Products: Fuelling the evolution of the DeFi space, DIA Labs support innovative applications that range from platforms to financial products that leverage Oracles.
3. Compatibility : The DeFi space is fragmented and features a multitude of protocols, standards and solutions. DIA Labs will fund solutions that ensure interoperability and compatibility between the many parts of the ecosystem.
4. Efficiency: Solutions that improve the efficiency of data sourcing and delivery in the context of rising gas costs.
5. DIA Platform: Features and additions for the DIA platform itself.

DIA Labs Mentors

Tamar Menteshashvili

Tamar is a legal professional and Crypto industry insider. She currently works at Binance with a Strategy & BD focus. Tamar is also a PhD candidate in Law at Shanghai University. She has been an active contributor as a mentor to industry-specific accelerator programs in different jurisdictions. She is currently a mentor at Outlier Venture’s Base Camp and ZILHIVE Accelerator. In 2019 she joined “Forbes 30 Under 30” list under the Technology category.

Simon Dedic

Despite his biochemistry background, blockchain has caught Simon’s interest since early 2017, so 2 years ago he swapped his PhD for a career in crypto. After co-founding Blockfyre, a research house focused on token-based blockchain projects, Simon co-founded Moonrock Capital, a VC focused on crypto investments, under which he developed an accelerator. Simon’s speciality is fundamental analysis and the incubation of early stage cryptocurrency projects.

Eric Wang

Eric is the Ecosystem Development Lead at Parity Technologies. There, he oversees Polkadot and Substrate Ecosystem Growth, including outbound, inbound lead generation and conversion, as well as other multiple endeavours that increase Substrate’s ecosystem reach. Previous to this, he was a co-founder at Archon, a decentralized cloud startup, leading its business development and their $2.1M seed round fundraise and also has experience in institutional blockchain investments. Eric left his Chemistry PhD program at Stanford to pursue a career in blockchain and has a MS from Stanford and BS from UCLA.

Charlotte Baker

As head of Strategic Partnerships at Outlier Ventures, Charlotte is responsible for building the profile of Outlier Ventures by strengthening the connectedness in the community of participants in their ecosystem. Prior to working at Outlier Ventures Charlotte worked at a range of different marketing agencies, ranging from large network agencies to growing start-ups.

Process

Join DIA Labs today by starting your application process. Here is a quick rundown of how to apply:

1. Application: 3 parts. Proposal/project description that outlines the intended work, a project timeline with milestones and measures for progress and the required resources
2. Deep dive: After filtering, expert interviews with DIA Labs team and mentors to evaluate chemistry and team fit.
3. Planning: Detailed planning regarding milestones, acceleration requirements and supporting activity.
4. Execution: We will help you execute on the timeline we worked out. Regular updates, mentor sessions and check-ins along roadmap. First payout on T=0 remaining payout according to plan and deliverables.

Visit labs.diadata.org to begin your application process now.

About DIA Labs

DIA Labs is a nucleus for experimentation, networking and engagement. This structure supports DIA’s overall mission of providing transparent, open-source and regulatory compliant data as a core function of the DeFi infrastructure, alongside a multifaceted contribution to the overall development of the ecosystem.

• DIA Labs Homepage
• DIA Labs Twitter