Fou -mo th p og am fo up to 10 AI sta tups offe s up to $2M i i vestme t pe p oject.
Sa F a cisco, CA, Oct. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 0G, the t ust laye fo AI, a d xBuilde s, the team of Sta fo d vete a s behi d the Sta fo d Blockchai Accele ato , have ope ed applicatio s fo Coho t 2 of the 0G Apollo Accele ato . The p og am will select up to 10 AI sta tups fo a fou -mo th accele ato u i g f om Novembe 2026 to Feb ua y 2027, with up to $2 millio i i vestme t available pe p oject.* Applicatio s a e accepted o a olli g basis u til Novembe 2, 2026, a d fou de s who apply ea ly get p io ity.
The fi st Apollo coho t o Sta fo d’s Mai Quad afte g aduati g i July 2026.
The seco d coho t was fi st a ou ced at 0G Dev Day Si gapo e o Octobe 5. It is ope to AI fou de s buildi g eve ue-ge e ati g p oducts, f om ea ly stage to g owth stage, who a e eady to build with 0G i f ast uctu e.
Accepted teams eceive:
- Up to $2,000,000 i i vestme t pe p oject, subject to due dilige ce, p oject evaluatio a d p og am te ms*
- 1:1 me to ship f om xBuilde s, the 0G team a d me to s f om Google, Co se sys, P ivy a d Sta fo d-affiliated fu ds
- Di ect access to 0G p otocol e gi ee s fo i teg atio suppo t
- Pa t e pe ks ac oss secu ity audits, fi a ce, legal, cloud a d ma keti g se vices
- Demo Day at the e d of the p og am, plus a i -pe so g aduatio o the Sta fo d campus
The p og am u s i th ee blocks: fou weeks of p og ammi g i Novembe cove i g p oduct st ategy, AI a d tech ical deep dives; a focused build sp i t f om Decembe to mid-Ja ua y; a d fou weeks i Ja ua y a d Feb ua y o go-to-ma ket, ope atio s a d legal, a d fu d aisi g, e di g with Demo Day a d g aduatio . The p og am is p ima ily emote, except fo a i -pe so g aduatio at Sta fo d towa d the e d of the p og am.
The fi st Apollo coho t of 10 teams was selected f om mo e tha 220 applicatio s a d g aduated at Sta fo d i July 2026 afte a te -week p og am. Acco di g to 0G, the coho t has d aw mo e tha 100 i t o equests f om i vesto s, e te p ises a d pa t e s si ce its Demo Day. O e Coho t 1 compa y, UV Labs, lau ched a platfo m whe e AI age ts act as ma ket make s fo ew digital assets. UV Labs also used the platfo m to lau ch its ow digital asset, Bu dle Cat, which eached a fully diluted valuatio of about $120 millio at its peak i Septembe .
“Coho t 1 showed us what happe s whe se ious AI fou de s get eal i f ast uctu e a d eal i vesto s a ou d them ea ly,” said Michael Hei ich, CEO of 0G Labs a d a Sta fo d alum us. “Coho t 2 is fo fou de s who wa t to build AI that people ca ve ify a d t ust, a d we wa t to back them f om the fi st li e of code to Demo Day.”
“We have u the Sta fo d Blockchai Accele ato fo five yea s a d helped mo e tha 85 p ojects aise ove $1 billio ,” said Gil Rose , Ma agi g Pa t e of xBuilde s. “Apollo b i gs that playbook to AI fou de s, a d Coho t 1 p oved the model wo ks. We a e looki g fo teams that wa t to build fast a d go to ma ket with the ight etwo k behi d them.”
Coho t 1 fou de s desc ibe the p og am i thei ow wo ds o the Apollo website:
“The Apollo a d 0G team gets ge ui ely ha ds-o . We eceived detailed feedback ac oss p oduct, GTM, a d fu d aisi g, ot just high-level advice. The p og am’s pa t e etwo k p ovided suppo t at eve y step, a d 0G actively i t oduced i vesto s to ou team th oughout,” said Justi Bebis, Fou de of UV Labs.
- Octobe 9: applicatio s ope at apollo.0g.ai, eviewed o a olli g basis
- Novembe 2: applicatio s close
- Du i g eview: sho tlisted fou de s submit a five-mi ute video a d take o e i te view call
- Novembe : up to 10 teams a ou ced
- Novembe 2026 to Feb ua y 2027: p og am, with Demo Day at the e d a d a i -pe so g aduatio at Sta fo d
Apply at apollo.0g.ai. Questio s about the p og am: apollo@0g.ai.
*I vestme t amou ts a e subject to due dilige ce, p oject evaluatio , a d p og am te ms. Actual fu di g may va y.
0G is the t ust laye fo AI a d a f o tie AI lab. It t ai s its ow fou datio models, i cludi g the 0GM se ies, a d builds the ha ess, safety, a d ve ificatio laye s a ou d them. Its stack combi es these with p ivate compute, e c ypted sto age, a d a AI- ative EVM L1 chai , desig ed to e able AI wo k, f om i fe e ce to age t actio s, to be ve ified a d audited. Lea mo e at https://0g.ai.
xBuilde s is comp ised of vete a fou de s, ope ato s, a d i vesto s f om Google, Salesfo ce, Capital O e, a d Coi base, who have exte sive expe ie ce u i g accele ato s ac oss AI, Fi tech, a d Blockchai . The team teaches the MS&E447 AI Sove eig ty & E t ep e eu ship cou se at Sta fo d U ive sity’s School of E gi ee i g, u s the Sta fo d Ope lab Ope Sou ce AI Semi a , a d has u the Sta fo d Blockchai Accele ato fo the last 5 yea s, helpi g 85+ p ojects collectively aise ove $1B f om leadi g fu ds with multiple u ico successes. The xBuilde s team has also u AI accele ato s fo Co ell/IC3, a d has exte sive expe ie ce buildi g a d ope ati g the Google fo Sta tups accele ato p og am fo doze s of coho ts ac oss AI, i ovatio , a d softwa e tech ologies. Accele ato p og ammi g is based o Sta fo d U ive sity’s sta tup methodologies a d cou ses, a d the exte sive expe ie ce of the team as fou de s, ope ato s, a d i vesto s u i g accele ato s fo SBA, Google fo Sta tups, Sta tX, a d Ca di al Ve tu es.
0G, the t ust laye fo AI, a d xBuilde s, the team of Sta fo d vete a s behi d the Sta fo d Blockchai Accele ato , have ope ed applicatio s fo Coho t 2 of the 0G Apollo Accele ato .
p @0g.ai https://0g.ai
