Verifying Origins and Data on Cardano: Join the CAP Mentor Network

The Cardano Accelerator Program (CAP) is now inviting subject matter experts to join the mentor network supporting the '26 Fall cohort, themed around Real-World Trust: Verifying Origins and Data on Cardano.

Regulators, procurement teams, and enterprise buyers are asking the same question with increasing frequency: can you prove it? The '26 Fall cohort ventures are building the infrastructure on Cardano that makes that proof possible, working across areas including:

• Digital Product Passports (Tracking the life of a product)
• Verified Identity (Proving who is who)
• Traceability (Knowing where things come from)
• Responsible AI & Oracles (Connecting honest data to the world)

The program aims to bring in practitioners with the kind of direct, experience-grounded perspective that founders at this stage find invaluable.

A program built around high-potential ventures

CAP is a ten-week program that runs selected ventures through technical and business development in parallel. On the technical side, each startup works directly with engineers from the Cardano Foundation. On the business side, structured workshops and service provider sessions address the commercial fundamentals. Mentors operate differently from both: available as needed and matched one-to-one with founders based on the specific challenge in front of them at that point in the program.

It is a deliberately flexible model. A founder working through a regulatory question in week four needs a different conversation than one preparing for investor discussions in week nine. The mentor network is built to meet those moments as they arise, with people who have encountered similar inflection points and can speak to them directly.

Guidance that comes from experience

What founders at this stage consistently need is someone who has sat across the table from the customer they are trying to reach, navigated the compliance framework they are trying to satisfy, or made the pivot they are now facing. Prior experience with Web3 or blockchain-native companies adds useful context but does not determine selection.

The CAP is looking for individuals with a demonstrable track record of measurable outcomes in one or more of the following areas:

• Go-to-market strategy and validation
• Pivoting and business model optimization
• Marketing, communications, and growth
• Sales, partnership strategy, and investor relations
• Legal and compliance, with particular relevance to traceability, data provenance, and verifiable asset frameworks
• International expansion and market entry
• Fundraising, venture capital strategy, and investor relations
• Additional Web3-relevant disciplines, including tokenomics and community development

The program selects on depth: a clear methodology, concrete outcomes, and the ability to engage directly with founders navigating novel commercial and technical terrain. Selected mentors join a curated pool of subject matter experts, with sessions occurring on demand and matched to each startup's requirements. Mentoring within the CAP is a non-commercial engagement. In return, the Cardano Foundation will promote mentor profiles across its channels, offering visibility within the ecosystem to those who contribute their expertise to the niche cohort of five ventures.

The mentor application opens on 5 June 2026 and will remain active for one month. Full details are available on the CAP program page, with the mentor application accessible here.

Questions can be directed to: venturehub@cardanofoundation.org