In December 2025, we wrapped up the first edition of the Algorand Startup Challenges, marking the culmination of a multi-month builder journey that began on October 7th and concluded with the Final Pitch Competition on December 12th.
The program was designed to support founders and startups at different stages of their journey, from early exploration to validated proof of concept, and to create a clear pathway for teams building on Algorand.
Highlights of the Startup Challenge journey:
- 220+ startups took part in the Startup Challenges sessions.
- 75 teams submitted applications to pitch in the competition.
- Judges narrowed down through two semi-final pitch rounds.
- 10 finalist teams progressed to the live final pitch competition.
Our diverse group of judges included experts from engineering, DeFi, product, partnerships, and ecosystem leadership in the Algorand Foundation.
The journey to the Startup Challenge
The Startup Challenges are a supportive bridge event in Algorand’s broader builder journey. Our focus is on supporting builders at every stage - from early learning to real-world deployment - and creating clear pathways for teams to grow, integrate, and succeed within the Algorand ecosystem.
Many teams enter the ecosystem through Web3 Masterclasses, where they learn the fundamentals of building on Algorand and ship their first proof of concept. From there, Startup Challenges provide a platform to refine ideas, validate real use cases, and gain visibility within the ecosystem.
After the Startup Challenge, teams may continue progressing through acceleration programs, deeper ecosystem support, and commercial partnerships, depending on their maturity and goals. Over time, the strongest projects can evolve into scalable businesses, contributing to long-term ecosystem growth and venture outcomes across Algorand.
2025 Algorand Startup Challenges winners showcase
The teams below are listed in final ranking order, with additional category awards highlighted where applicable.
BrainChain - Best Pitch
Website: https://brain-chain-one.vercel.app
X: https://x.com/MerlinKell1056
BrainChain is building a decentralized data marketplace for brain-computer interface (BCI) data, creating direct economic incentives for users to monetize the data they already generate while enabling AI and BCI companies to access high-quality, real-world datasets.
By removing intermediaries and using blockchain-based verification, BrainChain allows buyers to assess data quality before payment while users retain ownership and control of their data, laying the groundwork for scalable innovation in the BCI and AI ecosystem.
UrVote - Best Proof of Concept
Website: https://www.urvote.ca
UrVote is a blockchain-powered voting platform that enables organizations to run secure, transparent, and walletless elections on Algorand.
By eliminating wallets and complex onboarding, UrVote dramatically reduces friction while preserving verifiability and trust, making it suitable for real-world governance use cases such as healthcare institutions, universities, and community organizations.
Xythum Labs
Github: https://github.com/unspecifiedcoder/Private-cross-chain
X: https://x.com/XythumL
Xythum Labs is developing a privacy-preserving dark execution layer for cross-chain settlement, designed to eliminate Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) schemes, front-running, and orderflow leakage through confidential, intent-based execution on Algorand.
Positioned as core infrastructure, Xythum addresses a critical challenge for institutional blockchain adoption and secure cross-chain activity.
Orbital Lending
Website: https://orbital.compx.io
Orbital Lending is a capital-efficient DeFi lending protocol built around liquid staking token (LST) collateral and an on-chain debt marketplace.
The protocol enables lower borrowing costs, transparent refinancing, and stable organic yields, introducing a composable lending primitive that improves capital efficiency and liquidity health across the Algorand DeFi ecosystem.
Contract Studio
Website: https://beta.contractstudio.app
X: https://x.com/ContractStudio
Contract Studio is an institutional-grade tokenization platform designed to bridge traditional finance and blockchain by embedding regulatory reporting directly into real-world asset issuance.
By integrating financial smart primitives into tokenized assets, Contract Studio enables compliant, auditable on-chain finance without sacrificing institutional requirements.
Casalotto
Website: https://www.casalotto.app
Casalotto is an Algorand-powered raffle platform funding the restoration of Italian heritage sites while offering participants a fair, verifiably random chance to win high-value prizes.
Every ticket, payment, and draw is recorded on-chain, delivering transparency and trust for entrants, donors, and partners alike.
CompliLedger - Best Female-led Team
Website: https://www.compliledger.com
CompliLedger is a compliance automation platform using AI agents and Algorand to generate real-time, zero-knowledge proofs of regulatory and security compliance.
The platform replaces manual audits with continuous, verifiable compliance, enabling startups and enterprises to prove trust while preserving privacy.
ClearSpend
GitHub: https://github.com/magsss17/clear-spend
X: https://x.com/ClearSpend
ClearSpend is a financial literacy and spending platform for teens, helping families build safe spending habits, transparency, and long-term financial confidence.
Through verified purchases and education-first design, ClearSpend supports responsible financial decision-making from an early age.
Alo Agritech (Kheti-Badi)
Website: https://kheti-badi.com
X: https://x.com/Kheti_Badi
Alo Agritech is building a verified organic food supply-chain platform that provides farm-to-invoice transparency using Algorand.
By enabling direct market access and instant payments, the platform empowers small farmers while eliminating trust gaps in organic certification.
Jigsy Puzzle
Website: https://jigsy.app
Jigsy Puzzle is a new spatial puzzle gaming concept featuring daily challenges, multiplayer tournaments, and a uniquely scalable mechanic, with a roadmap for Algorand blockchain integration.
The project has already demonstrated early user engagement and strong interest shortly after launch.
Runners-up and semi-finalists
Alongside our finalists, we want to recognize the outstanding semi-finalist teams that progressed to the Startup Challenges. These projects demonstrated strong ideas, thoughtful execution, and clear potential, and we’re excited to see how they continue to build within the Algorand ecosystem as they continue in our funnel.
Semi-finalist teams:
Axiomatic Oracle: Algorand-native oracle converting off-chain asset data into privacy-preserving, programmable valuations for Real World Assets (RWAs).
Kastel Finance: A permissionless, non-custodial finance app for humans and AI agents, offering global accounts, savings, and payments.
Biatec DEX: A decentralized automated market maker (AMM) on Algorand with advanced liquidity, swapping, and staking features.
Cryptic Gate: Asset Protection-as-a-Service using Algorand’s native rekeying for secure, trustless digital inheritance.
The Visual Xperience: AI-powered music streaming with blockchain-based rewards, governance, and marketplaces.
bTree: A smart-contract platform enabling transparent, reproducible human-subject experiments for researchers and citizen scientists.
Rho8: A creator-first photo app proving authenticity at capture, with built-in monetization and social distribution.
BLOXoffice: A filmmaker co-operative enabling digital ownership and fair revenue sharing through NFT ticketing.
gamimap: Web3-native travel experiences where real-world exploration becomes on-chain achievements and incentives.
Étoile: A sustainable fashion platform verifying authenticity and sustainability using Algorand.
Algorand Startup Challenge judges panel
Several Foundation employees supported the Startup Challenge judging rounds.
Semi-final judges
The semi-final rounds judges were:
- Fred Estante - Head of DeFi
- David Rojas - Lead Engineer, AlgoKit
- Joseph Cecala - Product and Marketing Manager, Pera Wallet
- Jorrin Bruns - Developer Relations Advocate
- Sarah Kollnitzer - Partnerships Manager
- Victor Estival - Head of Product Marketing
Final judges
The final pitch competition judges were:
- Min Wei - Chief Business Officer
- Marc Vanlerberghe - Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer
- Fabio Maffioli - Head of Startup and Ecosystem Success
Their combined perspectives ensured teams were assessed across technical execution, product clarity, ecosystem fit, and long-term potential.
Next up for 2026
Congratulations again to all of the teams who participated in the 2025 Algorand Startup Challenges. This first edition laid a strong foundation, and we’re excited to continue supporting these builders as they grow within the Algorand ecosystem. Follow the teams as they continue to build and AlgoDevs on X for news about future Startup Challenges.
Are you interested in taking part in the next Startup Challenge? Visit and bookmark our startup resources page for updates and upcoming opportunities.
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