# Avalanche Foundation grants: what's open after Retro9000

> Avalanche Foundation grants after Retro9000 ended: Team1 Builder Grants up to $30,000, audit subsidies up to 75%, and which Avalanche programs are closed.

Last reviewed 2026-10-31. Dates are UTC.

Avalanche Foundation grants now go mainly through Team1 Builder Grants, which launched on July 1, 2026 after Retro9000 ended. Team1 pays Mini Grants of up to $10,000 on open application and Accelerator Grants of up to $30,000 to committee-picked projects. As of October 2026 the other open route is the Ava Labs Security Audit Program, which can pay up to 75% of an audit.

## Key takeaways

- Retro9000 has ended: its site says it is no longer active and closed to new applications, and Team1's August 2026 recap reports that the Avalanche Foundation concluded it after its final rounds (C-Chain Round 4 began June 1, 2026).
- Team1 Builder Grants, backed by the Avalanche Foundation, takes rolling applications for Mini Grants of up to $10,000; Accelerator Grants of up to $30,000 have no open application.
- The Ava Labs Security Audit Program gathers private quotes from 18 whitelisted audit firms within a 10-day window and can pay up to 75% of the audit you choose.
- Codebase, the Avalanche incubator with a $50,000 stipend per team, showed "Applications Closed" on October 2, 2026, and the Foundation's call for research proposals (up to $50,000) was closed too.

## What happened to Retro9000?

Retro9000 is over. When we checked on October 1, 2026, the Retro9000 site said the program is no longer active and closed to new applications, and it sent builders to the Avalanche Builder Hub. Team1's August 2026 recap reports that the Avalanche Foundation concluded Retro9000 after its final funding rounds.

Retro9000 ran in rounds and paid in AVAX. Its last round we found, C-Chain Round 4, began on June 1, 2026 with a pool of up to 10,000 AVAX split among the top 20 projects. The Foundation has not published an exact end date.

The Foundation also did not name a formal successor. On the Builder Hub that Retro9000 now points to, the open builder grant is Team1 Builder Grants, so web3grant's former Retro9000 page at [/grants/avalanche-retro9000](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/avalanche-retro9000) now describes Team1's program. If you search for "Avalanche Retro9000" or "Avalanche builder grants", Team1 is the program you can actually apply to.

## Team1 Builder Grants: the main open Avalanche grant

Team1, Avalanche's community organization, launched Team1 Builder Grants on July 1, 2026 with backing from the Avalanche Foundation. It has two tracks:

| Track | Grant size | How you get it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mini Grants | Up to $10,000 | Open application on the Builder Hub, reviewed on a rolling basis |
| Accelerator Grants | Up to $30,000 | Committee selection only; strong Mini Grant projects can be fast-tracked |

Mini Grants are open to new and existing projects building on Avalanche, from developers with a new idea to community builders and early-stage teams. You need a Builder Hub account. The form asks you to describe the project, the amount you need in US dollars and the milestones the grant will fund.

The Accelerator committee is made up of Avalanche team members and community representatives, who propose and vote on projects. You cannot apply for it directly.

### What Team1 does not publish

Team1 does not publish the payout token, whether payments are split by milestone, a total budget or a review time. Our 4-week estimate for a decision is not an official figure. Team1 says it receives a high volume of applications and contacts you only if you are accepted.

That last point shapes how you should apply. Because a rejection arrives as silence, keep applying to other programs while you wait rather than holding your plans for one answer. Our guide to [small Web3 grants](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/small-web3-grants) lists other programs in the Mini Grant range.

## Ava Labs Security Audit Program

The Ava Labs Security Audit Program is an audit subsidy, not a cash grant. You describe your audit scope once on the Builder Hub, and the 18 firms on the Ava Labs whitelist, or only the ones you pick, send private quotes within a 10-day window. You accept one quote, contact details are shared, and the program can pay up to 75% of the cost. There are no fees for builders.

The whitelist includes firms such as BlockSec, Cantina and Certora, covering smart contract audits in Solidity or Vyper, protocol audits in Go or Rust (including Avalanche L1s), cryptography reviews, formal verification, frontend audits and monitoring. Requests are taken at any time.

Ava Labs does not publish a dollar cap, a budget or who decides the subsidy share, so plan your budget as if you might get less than 75%. Our guide to [smart contract audit subsidies](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/smart-contract-audit-subsidies) covers similar programs on other chains.

## Which Avalanche programs are closed?

Three Avalanche programs that still turn up in searches were not taking applications when we checked in October 2026:

| Program | What it offered | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Retro9000 | AVAX rounds; Round 4 split up to 10,000 AVAX among 20 projects | Ended in 2026 |
| Codebase by Avalanche | $50,000 stipend per team, $500,000 prize pool | "Applications Closed" on Oct 2, 2026 |
| Avalanche research proposals | Up to $50,000 for academic research | "Applications currently closed" on Oct 2, 2026 |

Codebase, the official Avalanche incubator, lists a Season 4 timeline on its site without a year, and the latest season we could date ran applications from May 7 to June 6, 2025. It is not listed among the programs on the [Avalanche Builder Hub grants page](https://build.avax.network/grants), and no Season 5 intake has been announced.

The Avalanche Foundation's call for academic research proposals funds work on the economics of cryptoassets and decentralized networks, such as cryptoasset valuation and validator economics. It still appears on the Builder Hub, but its page says applications are closed and to check back for future calls, with no date given. Academics can look at our guide to [blockchain research grants for academics](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/blockchain-research-grants-for-academics) in the meantime.

The infraBUIDL and infraBUIDL(AI) programs are also gone from the Builder Hub; the old infraBUIDL page redirects to the grants list.

## Where else Avalanche builders can apply

If Team1's ceiling is too low or your application goes unanswered, the alternatives are programs on other chains or programs that are not tied to one chain. Any chain grant expects you to build and launch on that chain, so weigh the cost of a second deployment against the grant.

Open programs in web3grant's directory that an Avalanche team could reach without starting from scratch include:

- [Ink Spark grants](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/ink-foundation-spark): 500 to 20,000 USDC for live products on Ink, Kraken's L2.
- [Horizen Builder Ecosystem Fund](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/horizen-builder-ecosystem-fund): up to $150,000 in USDC, by milestone, for privacy-first DeFi apps on Horizen.
- [The Graph Grants Program](https://www.web3grant.com/grants/the-graph-grants): GRT grants for data services, dashboards and indexing tooling built with Subgraphs and Substreams.

For the full list of Avalanche programs we track, with live status, see [Avalanche grants](https://www.web3grant.com/ecosystems/avalanche). For a step-by-step process that works for any of them, see [how to apply for Web3 grants](https://www.web3grant.com/guides/how-to-apply-for-web3-grants).

## FAQ

### Is Avalanche Retro9000 still running?

No. Retro9000's own site said on October 1, 2026 that the program is no longer active and closed to new applications. Team1's August 2026 recap reports that the Avalanche Foundation concluded Retro9000 after its final funding rounds, the last of which, C-Chain Round 4, began on June 1, 2026. The Retro9000 site now sends builders to the Avalanche Builder Hub.

### How much do Team1 Builder Grants pay?

Team1 Builder Grants pay up to $10,000 through Mini Grants, which anyone building on Avalanche can apply for on the Builder Hub. Accelerator Grants pay up to $30,000, but only to projects a committee selects, and strong Mini Grant projects can be fast-tracked to that track. Team1 does not publish the payout token or whether payments are split by milestone.

### Does the Avalanche Foundation still fund academic research?

The Avalanche Foundation's call for research proposals offers up to $50,000 for academic work on cryptoasset valuation and validator economics, but its page said applications were closed when we checked on October 2, 2026. It asks researchers to check back for future calls and gives no date. The call is still listed on the Avalanche Builder Hub grants page.

### Is Codebase by Avalanche open for applications?

No. Codebase, the official Avalanche incubator that pays a $50,000 stipend per team from a $500,000 prize pool, showed "Applications Closed" on October 2, 2026. The latest season we could date took applications from May 7 to June 6, 2025, and no Season 5 intake had been announced. Codebase is not listed on the Builder Hub grants page.

### Can I combine a Team1 grant with the Ava Labs audit subsidy?

Neither program's published rules mention a limit on combining them. Team1 Builder Grants fund building work with cash, while the Ava Labs Security Audit Program pays part of an audit directly toward a whitelisted firm, so they cover different costs. List any other Avalanche funding in each application so reviewers see the full budget.

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From web3grant: https://www.web3grant.com/guides/avalanche-foundation-grants. Program details change often: confirm on each program's official site before applying.