A new accelerator for early-stage Web3 technical founders has been launched by crypto payments platform MoonPay.
Called MoonPay Labs, the new accelerator programme will serve as a launchpad for high-potential teams, providing initial pre-seed capital, product, and UX guidance, and tailored go-to-market (GTM) support leading up to their next funding round.
While traditional accelerator programs offer time-bound support to multiple teams per semester in a cohort-based system, MoonPay Labs follows an evergreen intake model, accepting up to only five high-potential teams a year.
This approach allows MoonPay Labs to provide deeper, ongoing product and marketing advisory beyond the fixed program timelines typically offered by accelerators. By limiting intake to just five teams annually, MoonPay Labs provides dedicated, long-term support to accelerate the journey from seed to Series A.
“MoonPay’s unique position within the ecosystem allows us to identify and accelerate high-value projects across emerging use cases. MoonPay Labs is designed to support these trailblazing builders by providing founder-centric tailored support that offers them a competitive edge in company building,” said Abhay M., VP of corporate development and investments at MoonPay. “MoonPay Labs allows highly technical teams to skip a funding round and minimise dilution ahead of a priced round event.”
Helping startups take the next step
MoonPay Labs engages with lean technical teams – typically fewer than five people – at the pre-seed or seed stage, that are building in emerging use-cases such as stablecoin infrastructure, agentic frameworks, DeFi, SocialFi, Web3 Commerce, and token-enabled business models.
Startups can leverage MoonPay’s developer platform, investor network, and market expertise to drive product refinement, customer acquisition, and efficient scaling, positioning them to reach target growth metrics for their next funding round.
MoonPay Labs’ acceleration framework includes:
UX workshops to optimize conversion
Marketing advisory
Token launch and listing advisory
Feedback and testing with MoonPay’s network of developers
Access to MoonPay’s sandbox for product testing
Access to MoonPay Ventures investor network for future funding rounds
In addition to initial pre-seed funding, MoonPay Labs may provide follow-up capital as teams scale, allowing founders to remain focused on company building ahead of the priced Series A round.
The first startup accepted into MoonPay Labs is MoonGate, an embedded wallet enabling the instant purchase of memecoins with credit and debit cards, removing the friction that has traditionally limited mainstream participation in the memecoin market.
MoonPay Labs sits within MoonPay’s Corporate Development group, which also includes MoonPay Ventures – MoonPay’s investing arm launched in 2023, which has invested in over 30 companies to date.
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