Applications are open for the second edition of 10X Founders Demo Day, an online pitch event where eight early-stage startups present to a panel of active VCs for a share of a $150,000-plus reward pool. The session runs Aug 25; applications close Aug 20.
The event is organized by Inspira Labs, Yellow and Cicada, with Sonic joining as Anchor Partner and Injective, Hacken, Galxe, 1inch, Cointelegraph Accelerator, Cryptic and Atlas (backed by CoinMarketCap) on as co-hosts.
How it works
Selected founders get five minutes on stage and two minutes of questions from the judging panel. Every team that reaches the stage — not just the winner — is scored against the same criteria by the full panel and receives written feedback.
Six judges are confirmed, with more to be announced: Ian Yeung (Animoca Brands), Roman Evdokimov (Contribution Capital), Ivan Li (Comma3 Ventures), Chloe Wang (Fenbushi Capital), Aleksandr Nechaev (Funders VC) and Tadas Ramonas (Zee Prime Capital). Each judge scores every team independently, and the panel collectively decides how the prize pool is allocated.
What's in the pool
The reward pool is built from in-kind commitments rather than a single cash prize:
- Sonic: $20,000 ecosystem grant for the winning team, plus a builder-program seat and technical support; ecosystem access extends to all eight finalists
- Injective: up to $20,000, subject to its own due diligence
- Hacken: $15,000 in smart contract audit credits
- Atlas (CoinMarketCap-backed): $5,000 in first-party price feeds from 900+ exchanges, plus a complimentary CoinMarketCap listing
- Cointelegraph Accelerator: $10,000 in media placement credits
- Galxe: its Essentials Plus package, valued at $6,000, for campaign and quest tooling
- 1inch: $5,000 in API access on its Custom Plan
- Cryptic: $5,000 marketing and growth package
- Inspira Labs, Yellow and Cicada: a combined $60,000 across market making, advisory, acceleration and go-to-market support
The main structural change from the first edition is the Anchor Partner seat, held by Sonic. Sonic reviews applications alongside the judging panel and can back teams before they've committed to a chain — rather than after a partnership is announced.
Why a second edition
The first 10X Founders Demo Day ran earlier this year: more than 150 teams applied, twelve pitched after screening, and Backyard Finance won a $125,000 pool judged by Varys Capital, Funders VC, Starknet Foundation, Magnus Capital, Coinsilium and Draper Associates. More than 7,000 people watched the livestream.
For v2.0, the organizers cut the number of pitching slots to eight while expanding the pool and judging bench — aiming to give each team a deeper review rather than spreading panel attention across more pitches. Applications passed 100 within four days of opening, with distribution support from CryptoRank, Incrypted, CoinMarketCap, Sonic and Injective.
Applying
10X Founders Demo Day v2.0 is open to founders with a working product or early traction who are planning a token generation event within the next three to six months. Applications close Aug. 20; selected teams are notified via Telegram.
Event link: luma.com/mie9hpvt