Avalanche is launching a new grant program called Retro9000, which aims to provide up to $40 million in retroactive grants for developers working on Avalanche Layer 1 (L1) projects. This initiative is designed to reward developers who contribute to the testnet and successfully launch their projects on the mainnet, fostering innovation and development within the Avalanche ecosystem. The Retro9000 program is funded by the Avalanche Foundation and is driven by community votes. Developers are encouraged to build in public, gain community support, test their deployments, and ultimately ship their projects to receive rewards. This program is seen as a significant step towards creating a robust L1 ecosystem, providing early incentives for developers to bring their products to life. Avalanche9000 represents a major upgrade for the network, enabling the creation of purpose-built blockchains that are interconnected and customizable. This upgrade is intended to streamline the process of launching new L1s, making it more economically feasible and easier for developers to customize and maintain their projects. The Avalanche9000 initiative is positioned as a catalyst for expanding the network's capabilities and enhancing the overall developer experience. In addition to the Retro9000 program, Avalanche is hosting a kickoff party at the Avalanche Summit LATAM in October, where developers can connect and collaborate on building the future of Avalanche. The focus is on creating innovative L1s that leverage the enhanced capabilities of Avalanche, as well as improving the tools necessary for efficient deployment and management. The broader context of Avalanche's recent developments includes the launch of SolvBTC, a decentralized Bitcoin reserve that integrates Bitcoin into the DeFi ecosystem, allowing users to earn returns on their BTC holdings. This initiative highlights Avalanche's commitment to expanding its DeFi offerings and enhancing user engagement. Overall, Avalanche is actively working to build a vibrant ecosystem for developers and users alike, with initiatives like Retro9000 and SolvBTC paving the way for innovative projects and enhanced functionality within the blockchain space.

The Avalanche Foundation disclosed the first five memecoins owned under its Culture Catalyst program.

Grayscale Investments has introduced the "Grayscale Avalanche Trust," offering accredited investors exposure to Avalanche's AVAX token. This addition to its portfolio aims to provide more access to the crypto ecosystem.

Polygon is launching its Community Grants Program, allocating 1 billion POL to builders over 10 years.

The Arbitrum Foundation plans to set aside approximately $400 million over two years to promote gaming projects through its new "Gaming Catalyst Program". The project, which is awaiting approval from the Arbitrum DAO, will primarily use the funds to encourage builders and publishers to create video games using its blockchain. The foundation believes this strategy will attract quality game creators and retain new users within Arbitrum.

Andre Cronje, a prominent figure in the blockchain space, announced the upcoming launch of Sonic, a new platform set to go live in December 2024. He invites developers who have been waiting for the release of new layer 1 or layer 2 solutions to showcase their applications on Sonic. The platform promises significant benefits, including up to 90% gas rebates for protocols from user and contract transactions, impressive transaction speeds exceeding 10,000 transactions per second, and a native stablecoin. Sonic aims to provide a secure gateway to Ethereum and offers various funding opportunities through initiatives like Sonic BOOM and an innovator fund. Additionally, there will be a substantial airdrop of 200 million tokens to support the community and incentivize participation. For developers interested in collaborating or seeking more information, Cronje encourages them to reach out via email. This initiative reflects a broader trend in the blockchain industry, where new platforms are emerging to address the needs of developers and users alike, promising enhanced performance and financial incentives.

Hugging Face is committing $10 million in free shared GPUs to help developers, academics, and startups create new AI technologies, aiming to counteract the centralization of AI advancements dominated by tech giants.

There are various types of grants, each aiming for a unique objective, and builders should know the difference. Each grant provider has a need they want to fulfill, such as the Ethereum Foundation's focus on public goods or an L2 emphasizing ecosystem growth. When writing the grant, explain the ‘why' behind your need for money, make it easy for the reviewer, showcase value, and get feedback.

Aave Founder Stani Kulechov hinted at the launch of the Aave Network, a new Layer 2, after the launch of Aave V4.

Immutable received nearly $1 billion in funding to build an ecosystem with over 200 games, while Sorare received almost $750 million for crypto fantasy games and now has over 3 million users. Smaller studios have abandoned projects after raising over a billion dollars cumulatively. Other games are targeting specific niches, like Parallel's focus on AI, Off The Grid's console experience, or Mythical Games' Pudgy Penguin mobile app.

The Arbitrum Foundation has been approved to distribute 225 million ARB, worth $215 million, to the Gaming Catalyst Program.

The commoditization of blockchain infrastructure, enabled by more competitors and options in the modular stack, is catalyzing a new wave of customized, application-specific rollups. By leveraging components like data availability layers (Celestia, Avail, and EigenDA), rollup SDKs (Sovereign and RollKit), and shared sequencers (Astria and Espresso), developers can focus on optimizing applications without the burden of managing the entire stack. At the same time, infrastructure providers can increase demand for their products and protocols by decreasing the cost of using them by commoditizing the complements or tools an application relies on.

Alphabet's self-proclaimed moonshot factory is carving out a path in which projects can spin off as startups. While the company was initially reluctant to let outsiders share the fruits of its investments or risk compromising intellectual property, executives ultimately decided it was better than letting promising technology wither. The new policy opens up more possibilities, but it also signals that Alphabet will be shutting off funding to more mature projects that haven't proven themselves financially viable.

Anthropic, in partnership with Menlo Ventures, is launching a $100 million Anthology Fund to support AI startups. The fund will provide at least $100k per startup, access to Anthropic's AI models, and various other perks such as networking opportunities and workspace access.

NVIDIA co-founder Curtis Priem has donated $275 million to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), impacting its technological advancements and allowing it to house an IBM Quantum System One computer. He gave away his NVIDIA shares after the IPO, valuing meaningful contributions over wealth retention. Priem's philanthropy has been pivotal in enhancing RPI's academic and research infrastructure.