Author: Zen, PANews

Ethereum Foundation Revolutionizes Ecosystem Support with Strategic Funding and Founders Lab

Securing support from the Ethereum Foundation (EF) has long been a powerful endorsement for projects within the burgeoning Ethereum ecosystem. Since its inception in 2018, the EF’s Ecosystem Support Program (ESP) has been a cornerstone for fostering public goods—funding open-source initiatives, educational programs, and crucial developer tools.

The Evolution of Support: From Open Applications to Strategic Initiatives

Initially, the EF’s grant model primarily relied on open applications, targeting vital areas like developer tools, core infrastructure, research, community building, and open standards. This approach proved highly fruitful, culminating in hundreds of funded projects. In 2024 alone, the ESP allocated nearly $3 million across 105 projects and initiatives via its open application platform, significantly accelerating the development of key Ethereum components and expanding its global developer community. This influx of capital and talent was instrumental in propelling the ecosystem’s early growth.

However, as the Ethereum ecosystem scaled in both size and complexity, the limitations of a purely reactive, open-application model became apparent. With a lean EF grants team facing an explosion of diverse applications, significant time and resources were consumed merely managing the volume, limiting the Foundation’s capacity to pursue more strategic opportunities proactively.

Recognizing the need for a more dynamic and impactful approach, the EF began to rethink how it could continue supporting public goods while strategically allocating resources to drive the ecosystem forward.

ESP’s Strategic Overhaul: Wishlist and Request for Proposals (RFP)

This evolving landscape prompted a significant strategic pivot for the Ethereum Foundation in 2025. In late August 2025, the EF announced a temporary pause on open applications for its Ecosystem Support Program (ESP), signaling a period of re-evaluation to refine funding priorities and enhance support mechanisms.

This adjustment marks a deliberate shift from a passive, responsive model to a proactive, strategic one. The goal is to align funding more closely with critical Ethereum ecosystem priorities and the overarching strategies of various EF internal teams, ensuring resources are directed towards projects with the greatest potential impact.

After several months of meticulous preparation, on November 3, 2025, the EF officially unveiled its revamped ESP funding mechanism. The core of this transformation is the introduction of a dual-track system: the “Wishlist” and “Request for Proposals (RFP)”, replacing the previous fully open application process. While funding remains accessible to all, applications must now align with EF’s pre-defined priority areas or address specific identified challenges.

The Wishlist: Guiding Innovation

The Wishlist outlines significant gaps or opportunity areas within the Ethereum ecosystem without prescribing specific implementation paths. Based on its observations of the ecosystem’s current state, the EF team identifies high-priority, broad directions or goals—essentially, the Foundation’s “aspirations” for the ecosystem. This model encourages applicants to unleash their creativity in addressing these needs, allowing developers and teams to propose independent ideas and solutions. The EF prioritizes projects that resonate with these overarching directions and promise a positive impact on the ecosystem.

Request for Proposals (RFP): Targeted Solutions

In contrast, the Request for Proposals (RFP) model is highly targeted. The EF issues clear problem statements or opportunity descriptions, inviting applicants to submit specific solutions. This model emphasizes measurable deliverables and time-bound outcomes, ideal for urgent issues the EF has already identified and requires focused investment. Each RFP typically includes predefined project scope, requirements, and expected results, along with fixed application windows and project cycles. It’s akin to the EF posing a “challenge,” and applicant teams providing the corresponding “answer,” with selection based on meeting specific demands and delivering within the stipulated timeframe.

The initial Wishlist and RFP categories span critical domains such as cryptography, privacy, application layer development, security, and community growth—reflecting the current pain points and opportunities driving Ethereum’s evolution.

Founders Lab: Empowering Execution for Ethereum Startups

Complementing the shift towards proactive funding, the EF also launched a groundbreaking new initiative in 2025: the Founders Lab. This mentorship-driven accelerator program is specifically designed for founders of new Ethereum ecosystem startups, emphasizing that turning brilliant ideas into reality demands robust execution and resource integration capabilities.

The Founders Lab is set to make its debut from November 18-19, 2025, during Devconnect Argentina in Buenos Aires, officially dubbed the first Ethereum World’s Fair. During this pivotal event, selected Ethereum startup teams will receive invaluable 1:1 guidance.

The inaugural cohort of mentors includes prominent entrepreneurs such as Jesse Pollak, head of Coinbase’s L2 network Base, and Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon. Participants in Founders Lab will have the unique opportunity to learn directly from these “unicorn” mentors, gaining strategic, technical, and operational insights to navigate their entrepreneurial journeys more effectively.

Drawing from official EF descriptions and the mentors’ backgrounds, the Founders Lab curriculum focuses on several key themes:

• Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy: Assisting teams in refining product positioning and market strategies, including defining target users, developing promotion plans, and establishing competitive advantages.
• Fundraising: Leveraging the expertise of mentors who have successfully raised capital and built large-scale projects, Founders Lab provides crucial guidance on crafting compelling business plans, engaging investors, and understanding fundraising timing and terms.
• Product & Scaling: Through hands-on mentorship, teams learn best practices for product refinement, user experience optimization, expanding user bases, and technical scaling solutions.
• Network Resources & Industry Insights: Recognizing that “connections are currency,” Founders Lab leverages the EF’s extensive ecosystem network to connect new founders with the right partners, community resources, and even potential investors. Mentors not only share their experiences but also open doors through their own networks.

By empowering founders across these critical dimensions, Founders Lab addresses a previous gap in the EF’s support model. Where the EF once primarily provided funding or platforms for exposure, it now goes further by imparting methodologies, expanding networks, and focusing on tangible results. This evolution signifies the EF’s recognition that founder execution itself is a crucial “public good” worthy of investment. As highlighted in the new grant program announcement, the EF is committed to providing robust, continuous support to its grantees, extending far beyond mere financial contributions.

(The above content is an authorized excerpt and reproduction from our partner PANews. Original link.)