Arbitrum is expanding its founder-focused support with a new initiative in Singapore, aiming to provide both funding and technical resources to onchain startups. In partnership with Robinhood Chain, the program invites builders to accelerate product development and compete for a funding pool totaling $300,000 in grants and prizes.
Founder House Singapore to accelerate onchain innovation
Applications have opened for Founder House Singapore, a three-day, in-person program tailored for teams developing products on Arbitrum One and Robinhood Chain. The event is scheduled from October 23 to October 25 in Singapore and will follow a global Buildathon held online between September 14 and October 4.
Founder House Singapore is part of Arbitrum’s broader Open House initiative, which is designed to nurture the next wave of onchain businesses. The program targets founders with an existing product, prototype, or early-stage business who are seeking to enhance their market strategy and drive growth ahead of product launch.
According to the Arbitrum Foundation, participating teams will receive tailored support across product development, technical infrastructure setup, go-to-market planning, and fundraising. In addition, founders will have opportunities to engage directly with investors, ecosystem partners, and peers to validate ideas and strengthen their product vision.
Teams developing on Arbitrum One and Robinhood Chain can work directly with experts, refine their products, and compete for $300,000 in grants and prizes across several builder tracks.
The event encourages founders to arrive with an existing project so they can focus on validating key assumptions, launching new features, and preparing products for broader adoption during the three-day program.
Multiple tracks and prize opportunities
A key highlight of Founder House Singapore is its funding opportunities. Teams can compete for up to $300,000 split across several tracks, including a General Builder Track, Robinhood Chain Founder-in-Residence Award, Robinhood Chain Innovation Award, and ecosystem grants. Dedicated funding is also set aside for promising projects exploring artificial intelligence agents and new financial primitives.
Most prize options include milestone-based funding, providing ongoing support for teams beyond the event itself. Winning teams will also gain entry to an eight-week mentorship program, conducted in collaboration with Robinhood Chain, for continued guidance after the main event.
| Track | Focus Area | Potential Funding |
|---|---|---|
| General Builder Track | All products on Arbitrum/Robinhood | Eligible for main pool |
| Robinhood Chain Founder-in-Residence | Innovative teams on Robinhood | Special grant |
| Robinhood Chain Innovation Award | Novel application on Robinhood Chain | Targeted prize |
| Ecosystem Grants | High-impact projects | Dedicated support |
Mini dictionary: Robinhood Chain, a blockchain built on the Arbitrum platform, aims to bring financial and tokenized asset applications onchain. It forms part of Robinhood’s strategy to support decentralized finance products and expand its reach in the blockchain ecosystem.
Strategic partnership and ecosystem growth
The partnership with Robinhood Chain adds a strategic dimension to the initiative, as the chain itself is built on Arbitrum and supports broader efforts to foster onchain financial products. Robinhood Chain contributes funding to Arbitrum’s Open House and supports various developer programs across the platform.
Founder House Singapore follows previous Open House editions in cities such as New York and London. In those programs, Arbitrum reported participation from 2,160 builders, with 177 projects submitted in New York and 273 in London, demonstrating the scale and reach of these initiatives.
For the Singapore edition, Arbitrum states that the focus will be on helping high-potential teams move from prototype to launch-ready products, while building valuable connections within the ecosystem. Participants will take part in mentorship sessions, workshops, and direct interactions with investors and experts, supporting the goal of fueling the next stage of onchain innovation.
Arbitrum Foundation stated that Expansion Program license fees accounted for 35% of ArbitrumDAO income in July, coinciding with Robinhood Chain’s first month live on mainnet.
The program’s comprehensive approach—combining funding, mentorship, and ecosystem access—aims to attract promising founders and newly built products to the ARB network at a time of growing interest in onchain finance in Asia and globally.
