Wintermute Construct: A $200K-$300K Accelerator From a Top Market Maker
Wintermute Construct backs crypto founders with $200K ($300K in the joint Solana cohort), mentorship and investor intros over 12 weeks, targeting the Machine Economy. ~1% acceptance, so you need something built - here is how to get there.
Wintermute - one of the largest market makers in crypto - runs Construct, an accelerator for founders ready to actually build and launch. It is not a grant you apply for casually: it is capital plus the network of a firm that moves serious volume every day. Apply here: .
- $200,000 investment through Construct, and in the joint 2026 cohort with Fabric Ventures' Rsidency, $300,000 each for eight Solana-focused founding teams
- Hands-on mentorship from real builders, not passive advisors
- Investor introductions - Wintermute's network is the actual product here
- Long-term strategic support beyond the program
- A 12-week program (the 2026 joint cohort ran applications to September 15, starting in October)
Be clear about what you are walking into: the acceptance rate is roughly 1% - past cohorts drew 800+ applications for 8 spots. This is the most competitive thing we cover, and that is exactly why it is worth knowing about. A Wintermute-backed company is a different category of company.
The 2026 joint cohort targeted the "Machine Economy" - explicitly the intersection of crypto, fintech, AI, robotics and quantum computing. That is a strong signal about where a top market maker thinks value accrues next. If you have been farming AI-agent and robotics airdrops (Pond, Senpi, Axis Robotics, Konnex, BitRobot), you have been standing in exactly that intersection as a user. Construct funds the people who build there.
- Program: Wintermute Construct (accelerator for crypto founders)
- Funding: $200K via Construct; $300K each in the joint Rsidency x Construct Solana cohort (8 teams)
- Format: 12-week program, remote, with mentorship, investor intros and long-term support
- Focus: the Machine Economy - crypto x fintech x AI x robotics x quantum
- Selectivity: ~1% acceptance (800+ applications for 8 places historically)
- Apply:
At a 1% acceptance rate, a plan does not cut it - you need something built and, ideally, used. That is the gap we close:
- Deployr - ship a real app and contract on your own wallet, so you apply with a live product and early traction rather than a concept.
- ceoism.com - see the apps and builds in our portfolio, so you know exactly what we can put together with you, and the founder path from a shipped product to a company.
- Talk it through: or .
Every airdrop you have farmed is unpaid market research - you know what is broken and what is missing. Construct is one of the places that pays for that insight, if you turn it into a product.
Related: GOAT Builder Grants , Base Builder Grant , hackathons and grants , the earn portal .
Research, not financial advice. Verify the program independently on the official site before applying or sharing data.
Developer airdrops reward builders. Ship a real app and contract with Deployr, or cross over to ceoism, evolve into a founder, and go after grants and VC funding. Can't build it yourself? Deployr can build it for you.
New to web3, or want the bigger picture beyond airdrops? Explore web3wikis - how it works, why it matters, and what you can do with it.
Research, not financial advice. Some links are referral links.