Solana Incubator: Grow Your Company Alongside Solana Labs

The Solana Labs Incubator is calling for applications to its fourth cohort, offering ambitious founders a chance to build alongside the team that constructed the original Solana validator client. With seven of its 18 alumni companies having raised $5 million or more, this three-month New York City program has become a proven launchpad for Solana's next generation of blue-chip companies.

Summary

Emon Motamedi, Head of the Solana Incubator within Solana Labs, took the stage at Breakpoint 2025 to announce that applications for Cohort 4 are now open, with a deadline of December 19th. The program runs from March to May 2026 and brings four to six teams to New York City to work directly with the Solana Labs team.

The incubator represents Solana Labs' strategic evolution from building core infrastructure to scaling its expertise across the broader ecosystem. Rather than keeping their knowledge siloed, the team has created a structured program to transfer their resources, connections, and hands-on development experience to promising new projects. This approach has already yielded impressive results, with alumni including well-known projects like Sanctum, Marinade, Chakra, Espresso, Kashaga, Pi, Zinta, and Gentiles.

What sets this program apart from traditional accelerators is the depth of engagement. Teams don't just receive mentorship from afar—they work directly in the same space as Solana Labs personnel, getting real-time feedback on everything from Figma designs to marketing strategies. The program also includes over 90 events ranging from office hours to workshops featuring founders of companies like Venmo, FanDuel, and input from Solana's own co-founders Raj and Toly.

Key Points:

The Three Pillars of the Incubator Experience

The Solana Incubator is built around three core components that work together to accelerate company growth. The first and most distinctive pillar is the "build alongside Solana Labs" experience, where participating teams gain full access to the company's resources and personnel. This isn't passive mentorship—it's active collaboration where Solana Labs' head of design might jump directly into a team's Figma files to iterate on user experience, or the head of marketing might spend multiple days helping craft and execute a marketing strategy.

The second pillar encompasses traditional accelerator elements similar to what you'd find at Y Combinator. Over 90 events are packed into the three-month program, including workshops, speaker sessions, and office hours. High-profile visitors have included Nikita Beer, the founders of Venmo, FanDuel's founding team, and Solana's own leadership. The third pillar—one that surprised even the program organizers—is the cohort camaraderie. Teams consistently report that the bonds formed with fellow founders create a family-like atmosphere that extends well beyond the program's conclusion.

Hands-On Development and Fundraising Support

The operational support provided goes far beyond typical accelerator offerings. Each week, the Solana Labs team identifies the major challenges facing participating companies and mobilizes the appropriate experts to address them. Whether a team needs help with technical architecture, design iteration, or go-to-market strategy, specialists engage directly in the work rather than simply offering advice.

Fundraising support is equally comprehensive, with teams getting introductions to Solana Ventures and other ecosystem-focused VCs. The program also helps navigate Solana Foundation grants, liquidity pool arrangements, and market maker relationships. Perhaps most valuably, each team creates a "dream list" of people they want to meet during the program, and the incubator successfully arranges meetings with over 90% of the requested contacts.

Proven Track Record and Alumni Success

The numbers speak for themselves: seven of 18 teams that have gone through the program have raised $5 million or more in funding. This figure doesn't even account for successfully bootstrapped companies like Marinade and Flash Trade, which have built sustainable businesses without traditional venture funding.

Alumni span multiple verticals and stages, demonstrating the program's flexibility. Cohort one produced Sanctum, which has become one of Solana's most recognized projects. Cohort two included Marinade, already an established player looking to scale further. More recent cohorts have included Pi, Zinta, and Gentiles, many of which maintained active presences at Breakpoint 2025 with booths and speaking slots. This stage-agnostic approach means both early-stage teams with promising ideas and established projects seeking the next level of growth can benefit.

Application Details and Program Structure

Applications for Cohort 4 close December 19th, with the program running from March to May 2026 in New York City. To remove financial barriers, Solana Labs offers a relocation stipend to help teams get to New York and participate fully in the program.

The program intentionally keeps cohort sizes small—four to six teams maximum—to ensure each participating company receives meaningful attention and support. This isn't a numbers game; it's about creating transformative three-month experiences that become the most impactful period in each company's existence.

Facts + Figures

• Seven of 18 total incubator alumni have raised $5 million or more in funding
• The program runs for three months, from March to May 2026 for Cohort 4
• Each cohort includes 90+ events including office hours, workshops, and speaker sessions
• Cohort sizes are capped at four to six teams maximum
• The incubator successfully arranges meetings with over 90% of contacts on each team's "dream list"
• Application deadline for Cohort 4 is December 19th
• A relocation stipend is provided to help teams move to New York City
• Notable alumni include Sanctum, Marinade, Chakra, Espresso, Kashaga, Pi, Zinta, and Gentiles
• Several alumni maintained active booths and speaking slots at Breakpoint 2025
• The program is both stage-agnostic and vertical-agnostic

Top Quotes

• "How can we scale the knowledge, the expertise, the resources we've built up to really help build the next blue chip companies on Solana?"

• "Seven of our teams, of 18 teams that have gone through the program, have raised $5 million or more in funding so far."

• "At the end of every cohort, we hear from the teams that it really feels like a family being a part of this and being able to work alongside these amazing founders."

• "We try to make sure we have a dream list of all the people you could meet with during the course of this program. Who would be on that list? And we actually go and we try to bring in 90 plus percent of the people you list out."

• "If you want to have the most impactful three months of your company's existence, we would love to work with you to build the future of Web3 on Solana."

• "We've helped early stage teams like Sanctum before they became the big thing they are today. And we've helped established teams like Marinade who's looking to push things to the next stage."

Questions Answered

What is the Solana Incubator and who runs it?

The Solana Incubator is a program run by Solana Labs, the organization that built much of Solana's early infrastructure including the original validator client. Headed by Emon Motamedi, the incubator brings small cohorts of four to six teams to New York City for three months of intensive, hands-on development alongside the Solana Labs team. The program was created as a way to scale Solana Labs' accumulated knowledge and resources to help emerging companies in the ecosystem succeed.

What kind of support do participating teams receive?

Teams receive comprehensive support across multiple dimensions. On the development side, Solana Labs specialists actively collaborate on projects—designers jump into Figma files, marketing leaders help craft and execute strategies, and technical experts assist with product development. Beyond this, teams get fundraising support through introductions to Solana Ventures, other VCs, the Solana Foundation grants program, and market makers. The program also includes over 90 events such as workshops, office hours, and speaker sessions featuring successful founders from both Web3 and traditional tech.

How successful have previous cohorts been?

The track record is strong: seven of 18 total alumni companies have raised $5 million or more in venture funding. This doesn't include bootstrapped successes like Marinade and Flash Trade. Notable alumni include Sanctum from Cohort 1, and Marinade, Chakra, Alpha Ledger, and Easy Labs from Cohort 2. More recent graduates like Pi, Zinta, and Gentiles from Cohort 3 maintained active presences at Breakpoint 2025, demonstrating continued momentum in the ecosystem.

What types of companies should apply?

The program is both stage-agnostic and vertical-agnostic, meaning companies at various stages of development and across different sectors are welcome. Early-stage teams with promising ideas have been accepted alongside established projects looking to scale. The key criteria appear to be ambition, hunger to build something significant, and a commitment to creating sustainable businesses on Solana. Teams should be prepared to relocate to New York City for the duration of the program, though a relocation stipend is provided to help facilitate this.

When and how can teams apply for Cohort 4?

Applications for Cohort 4 close on December 19th, with the program running from March to May 2026 in New York City. Interested teams can apply through the incubator website, follow updates on social media (@Incubator and @EmonMotamedi), or reach out via email. The program provides financial assistance through a relocation stipend to ensure that physical location isn't a barrier to participation for qualified teams.