Polygon Grants
Polygon Labs
Description
Polygon Grants provides funding through Polygon Labs' ecosystem growth programs, with a massive 100 million POL token allocation for builders. The program supports DeFi protocols, infrastructure, gaming, social, and AI projects building on Polygon PoS, zkEVM, and the AggLayer.
For ZHC builders, Polygon offers compelling opportunities — fast, cheap transactions ideal for automation, a mature ecosystem of DeFi primitives, and growing support for AI agents on-chain. The grants program is divided into Ecosystem Growth (larger strategic grants), Community Grants (smaller, faster approvals), and specific track programs for DeFi, infrastructure, and consumer apps.
Eligibility
Grant Categories
Ecosystem Growth Grants
- Strategic projects with high impact potential
- Larger funding amounts ($50K-$500K+)
- Longer evaluation timeline
- Direct Polygon Labs review
Community Grants
- Smaller projects and experiments
- Faster approval process (2-4 weeks)
- Community voting on some allocations
- Typically $5K-$50K
Track-Specific Programs
- DeFi, Infrastructure, Gaming, Social
- AI and automation tooling
- Developer tooling and documentation
- Zero-knowledge and privacy tech
ZHC-Specific Fit
✅ Excellent for:
- DeFi automation and vaults
- On-chain AI agents and oracles
- Cross-chain automation via AggLayer
- Gasless transactions for UX optimization
- High-frequency automated strategies
- Developer tooling for Polygon
❌ Poor fit if:
- Not building on Polygon ecosystem
- Pure off-chain SaaS with no blockchain component
- Simple ERC-20 without novel functionality
Application Process
Application Steps
| Step | Timeline | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Review programs | Day 1 | Check active grant programs on polygon.technology/grow |
| Prepare proposal | 1-2 weeks | Project description, team, milestones, budget |
| Submit | — | Via appropriate program portal (Google Forms or Discourse) |
| Review | 2-6 weeks | Depends on grant size and category |
| Milestone-based | Ongoing | Funding released upon milestone completion |
| Community showcase | Post-grant | Demo your project to the ecosystem |
What's Funded
| Category | Examples | Typical Range |
|---|---|---|
| DeFi protocols | DEXs, lending, perps, yield aggregators | $50K-$500K+ |
| Infrastructure | Oracles, bridges, indexing, sequencing | $25K-$250K |
| AI/Automation | Agents, automation layers, AI tooling | $25K-$200K |
| Gaming | On-chain games, NFT infrastructure | $25K-$150K |
| Consumer apps | Social, identity, reputation | $10K-$100K |
| Developer tooling | SDKs, frameworks, debugging tools | $10K-$100K |
Grant Seasons
Polygon typically runs grant programs in seasons rather than continuous:
- Season 1-2: Completed (2022-2023)
- Season 3: Active periods announced on Discord/Twitter
- Check current status: Polygon Discord
Required Materials
- Project overview and whitepaper (if applicable)
- Technical architecture and Github
- Team backgrounds and LinkedIn profiles
- Roadmap with milestones (3-12 months)
- Budget breakdown in POL or USD equivalent
- Go-to-market strategy
- How it benefits Polygon ecosystem
- Previous work or MVP (if available)