Yes! Pioneer is open to anyone working on any type of project.

We’re looking for ambitious, creative people working on something interesting. It can be research, software, a work of art, a company — anything!

Our goal is to be as international as possible. We may be technically unable to support certain countries (like North Korea), but we’re trying our best to appeal to everyone.

Apart from any legal restrictions, there is no age limit for Pioneer. We think we can help young people the most, but we'll gladly fund anyone at any age.

Pioneers will receive...

• $1,000 to spend however you’d like. You can buy a computer, books, coffee or whatever your heart desires. We trust that you’ll use the money to advance yourself somehow.
• $6,000 in Stellar lumens.
• $100,000 in Google Cloud credits.
• $100,000 in AWS credits.
• $2,000 in Airtable credits.
• Free Stripe Atlas company formation.
• A round-trip plane ticket (and help with associated logistics) to Silicon Valley.
• Mentorship from some of the world’s most successful individuals.
• Access to the private online Pioneer community.
• A 1-year subscription to The Economist.
• Participation in the Pioneer Livestream.
• A 1-year subscription to Wolfram|One.

Pioneer is designed to help determined and ambitious people take their project to the next level. We’re providing a network, guidance and funding. You should enter if you think you think those things would benefit you.

No, submissions for the Pioneer Tournament are always open.

After you submit your initial project description, you’ll go through the Pioneer Tournament. You’ll demonstrate weekly progress, vote on other participants, and see where you stand on our global leaderboard. You can learn more about the Pioneer Tournament here.

Yes! We expect many Pioneers to be students or employed full-time. You just need to make sure you don’t have any legal conflicts (for example, an IP contract you’ve signed with your employer).

Yes. You can add your teammates when filling out your project description. Please don’t submit multiple project descriptions per team. Teams will receive $1,000 total, not per teammate.

Yes, but not at once. We think that a singular focus will be key to your success. Each player has one primary project they work on. You can always change your project later on.

Select experts review players in the Top 50 on the Global Leaderboard and choose new Pioneers as often as every week. Experts take into account participants’ leaderboard positions, project descriptions, and progress when making selections. We're experimenting with the cadence and number of winners per week, so cohorts will vary in size.

You are free to do whatever you like with the grant. Buy books, coffee or a laptop.

If you create a company from your project and decide to raise money from investors, Pioneer will have the right to invest up to $100,000 alongside them. You are under no obligation to start a company. We expect many of our best Pioneers to be researchers, painters and musicians. We’re hoping the fraction of entrepreneurs helps us fund the rest. More on our offer page.

The same conditions as above apply, starting with your next financing round.

There are many fantastic programs that try and help small business get big. Pioneer is focused on finding and supporting great people, not companies. You can apply with any type of project, even if it isn't a company.

Your score will change as other participants and experts vote on you during the Pioneer Tournament. Scores change based on the quality of other players. For example, if you’re upvoted over a top player, you’ll get more points than if you’re upvoted over a low-ranked player. You still get points if you’re upvoted over a low-ranked player—just not as many. The best way to reach and maintain a high score is to demonstrate impressive progress every week.