The first class of U Combinator was a rousing success. 50 teams took part in the 9-week incubator of workshops, prototyping, MVP feedback, and pitch practice. The prize: a spot as a Union Fellow, and the white glove technical, product design, marketing, bizdev, and fundraising support from the Union core team that comes along with it.
Throughout the program, the U Comb builders continually impressed the Cracked Labs and Union core teams with their ingenuity, technical acumen, rapid iteration, and grit. When it came time for pitch day, Union’s Head of Growth Kaylei Fleming said it best: they set the standard for the next cohort way too high.
From mobile-first Bitcoin and commodities exchanges to DePIN and AI agent frameworks, the Fellows’ projects are varied, and with multiple members on every team, this second cohort of fellows is even larger than the first. The Union ecosystem is rapidly expanding, and there’s never been a better time to join the Union.
Introducing the next cohort of Union Fellows.
Esprezzo
Site: esprezzo.io X: @esprezzoapp
Esprezzo is the team behind the no-code automation platform Dispatch. Based on demand from largernish clients the Esprezzo team has been building Esprezzo Cloud, a Web3 native cloud offering. Union is partnering with Esprezzo to support the launch of their newest product release that will be announced on the main stage at EthcC. More updates to come!
Ensemble
Site: ensemble.codes X: @EnsembleCodes
Ensemble Codes is an AI Agent framework aiming to empower agents to function as service providers, unlocking new revenue streams. Agents can define services and execute user tasks in an autonomous, trustless manner. Union and Ensemble are working together to lay cross-chain crypto rails for the emerging agent economy by providing the tools and primitives for agent-human collaboration.
Conduct
Site: conductprotocol.xyz X: @conduct_xyz
Conduct is a mobile-first Bitcoin sidechain designed for stablecoin payments, and globally decentralized by users running nodes on their phones. Union will support Conduct as a Day 1 interop partner for bridging stablecoins, LSTs, and more to the network.
Nativerse
Site: nativerse.xyz X: @nativerse_xyz
Nativerse is building a platform for the creation and trading of infinite Bitcoin LSTs for Bitcoin Secured Networks (BSNs). Its multi-asset liquidity aggregation hub resolves liquidity fragmentation for Bitcoin-correlated assets. Union will be a Day 1 interop partner for bridging Bitcoin liquidity across ecosystems for staking, unstaking, and swaps.
Thema
Thema is building a new arbitrage-aware platform for tomorrow’s structured financial instruments. Their first product is an omnichain exchange-traded products (ETP) platform designed to provide holders with additional mechanistic yield. Union will enable high-frequency rebalancing for Thema, to ensure prices remain close to value while enabling efficient connection to a broad range of ecosystems.
Hyperweb
Site: hyperweb.io X: @Hyperweb_
Hyperweb and Union are partnering to enable multi-chain and cross-chain orchestration for their TypeScript-based platform that combines traditional web tools with decentralized infrastructure. This platform, centered around the Hyperweb Virtual Machine, aims to unify blockchain and cloud environments, enabling the creation of cross-chain applications using familiar development practices.
Sphinx
Site: sphx.io X: @SphinxProtocol
Sphinx and Union are partnering together for rapid settlement on their onchain commodities exchange, creating more efficient, transparent, and accessible markets. GCX (Sphinx’s Global Commodities Exchange) is the first institutional-grade commodity derivatives exchange built on Sphinx’s permissioned L1 blockchain. It provides 24/7 direct market access to futures and perpetual swaps on oil, natural gas, metals, and other commodities
The Next Generation of Union Projects
Each of the projects follow in the steps of the first cohort and the initial Union Foundation grant recipients in building innovative technology that leverages Union for cross-chain interoperability. By partnering with these projects, Union is doing something more than simply connecting different ecosystems—it’s creating a Union-based ecosystem that will spread to all corners of crypto.
Are you a builder who missed out on joining U Combinator? Mail bd@union.build for future opportunities.
Congratulations to all the new Union Fellows, and zkgm.