Libp2p Expedition Mumbai logolibp2p//mumbai

// Builders · Research · Infrastructure

Build what makes Ethereum stronger.

Founders Garage brings ambitious startup founders, protocol researchers, security builders, and ecosystem teams together at Devcon to advance Ethereum's next frontier — from quantum-safe cryptography to resilient networking and agentic infrastructure.

Bring your startup to the GarageExplore the focus areas
November 3–4, 2026
Two days at Devcon
Deep-tech first
Research translated into adoption
Ecosystem-wide
Coordination across teams and protocols

November 3–4, 2026 · Devcon 8 Mumbai

// the opportunity

Hard problems. Real Ethereum impact.

We’re looking for teams building foundational technology that makes Ethereum safer, more resilient, more private, easier to use, and ready for the next generation of decentralized applications. The Garage is a place to connect research with deployable products and ecosystem adoption.

01 / Cryptography

Quantum-safe Ethereum

Post-quantum signatures, migration pathways, cryptographic agility, wallet and validator readiness, and practical paths from research to production.

02 / Wallet security

Wallets & key safety

Safer signing, account recovery, transaction intent, policy enforcement, smart-account security, and usable protection against real-world threats.

03 / Core protocol

Consensus & networking

libp2p for consensus clients, resilient peer discovery, transport security, interoperability, fault tolerance, and performance under adversarial conditions.

04 / Research tools

Protocol research & PQ signatures

Applied research — including work in the wider Nethermind ecosystem — formal methods, test harnesses, benchmarks, and implementation pathways for protocol teams.

05 / Privacy & media

Privacy & decentralized media

Private-by-design systems, content-addressed data, verifiable provenance, censorship-resistant publishing, and user-owned media infrastructure.

06 / Agentic systems

Agents that improve Ethereum

Agentic workflows for security triage, client testing, incident response, protocol analysis, developer tooling, and auditable operations — with human control.

// The thesis

From isolated breakthroughs to shared infrastructure.

Ethereum's resilience is an ecosystem property. Cryptography, wallets, consensus clients, networking, privacy, and developer tooling cannot advance in silos. Founders Garage aims to connect the people solving these problems, surface shared needs, and help promising teams move from prototype to integration.

Join the working conversation
  • 01

    Coordinate upstream

    Connect founders with client teams, researchers, maintainers, and ecosystem stewards early.

  • 02

    Build for interoperability

    Prioritize open interfaces, reproducible tests, shared benchmarks, and implementation diversity.

  • 03

    Prove the security story

    Make threat models, evidence, test results, and operational assumptions legible.

  • 04

    Turn adoption into a roadmap

    Pair technical milestones with maintainers, pilot deployments, documentation, and feedback loops.

// a shared roadmap

Advance the whole ecosystem.

The Garage is designed as a starting point for durable coordination — not a one-off showcase. We want to help turn high-value conversations into shared workstreams, open tooling, measurable progress, and real adoption across Ethereum.

Near term · Discover

Map the landscape

  • Identify startups, maintainers, researchers, and active projects
  • Collect ecosystem needs and priority gaps
  • Connect teams around quantum readiness, wallet security, networking, and privacy
  • Define shared problem statements and potential pilot partners

Medium term · Validate

Build & test together

  • Launch working groups and open project trackers
  • Coordinate interop tests, benchmarks, threat models, and reference implementations
  • Run focused pilots with consensus clients, wallets, and infrastructure teams
  • Publish technical findings and adopter feedback

Long term · Adopt

Make progress durable

  • Support upstream contributions and specification alignment
  • Improve onboarding, docs, examples, and developer experience
  • Track integrations, security improvements, and production usage
  • Connect teams to funding, talent, and long-term maintainership

// what progress looks like

Open workstreams with accountable stewards · shared test suites and dashboards · documented research-to-implementation paths · stronger links between teams and repositories · clear adoption stories · measurable improvement in Ethereum security, resilience, privacy, and usability.

// ecosystem collaboration

Many teams. One stronger Ethereum.

Founders Garage is being shaped in collaboration with builders and organizations working across Ethereum, decentralized infrastructure, cryptography, privacy, security, and investment. The goal is to make it easier for founders to find collaborators, feedback, and a path to ecosystem adoption.

  • Starknet Ecosystem
  • libp2p
  • IPFS
  • SEETA
  • Sovra Labs
  • Diagnosity
  • Monad
  • Mesh Works
  • Fuel Labs
  • Eth Swarm
  • Aspiring Investments Corp.

Research and ecosystem references are intended to encourage collaboration; participation, specific integrations, and individual project commitments should be confirmed with each organization.

// call for founders

Building something Ethereum can’t afford to ignore?

If you’re working on quantum-safe cryptography, PQ signatures, wallet security, consensus-client networking, protocol research, privacy, decentralized media, or agentic tooling that makes Ethereum safer and more resilient, we want to hear from you.

Bring your prototype, research question, benchmark, threat model, or adoption challenge. Come ready to meet collaborators and help define the next set of ecosystem-wide priorities.

// express your intent to participate

Write to the Garage organisers

If you’d like to take part as a startup founder, please write to both contacts below describing your startup, what you’re building, and the focus area you want to work on. Each button opens a message with a short outline you can fill in and send.

Mention your startup, the problem you’re solving, your current stage, and what you hope to get out of the Garage. Founders working across all six focus areas are welcome.

Coordinate upstream. Build in the open. Improve Ethereum.