Open House Singapore: Applications Are Now Open
Applications are now open for Open House Singapore, the Southeast Asia hub of Arbitrum’s global founder program in 2026, welcoming founders from across the region to build the next generation of onchain products.
Following the successful Open House programs in New York City and London, the program follows the format that has already helped hundreds of builders advance their projects this year: a three-week online Buildathon from September 14 to October 4, followed one month later by a three-day, in-person Founder House.
During the online Buildathon, builders can develop an existing project or codebase with support from frequent feedback sessions designed to help them refine their direction, iterate quickly, and work toward an MVP. Founder-focused workshops complement this process, covering key areas across product development, go-to-market strategy, user experience, agentic commerce, wallet infrastructure, emerging market opportunities, and much more.
At the Founder House, teams will shift their focus toward sharpening their product and defining a path to market. Sessions will cover product direction, value proposition, customer discovery, and go-to-market strategy, followed by structured exercises that challenge teams to reconsider their assumptions and identify a stronger wedge. Dedicated mentorship, networking opportunities, and pitch sessions will give founders further opportunities to test their thinking and strengthen both their product and commercial strategy.
Throughout the program, founders will work directly with teams from the Arbitrum Foundation, Offchain, and ecosystem partners, gaining hands-on support across product development, go-to-market strategy, fundraising, and ecosystem growth.
With $415k in prizes and milestone-based grants available, Open House Singapore is built for early-stage founders at different points in the development process - whether they are validating a new idea, refining an existing product, or building their first onchain product. The program combines practical expertise, direct feedback, and financial support to help promising projects develop into viable businesses.
Prize Breakdown
A total of $415k has been earmarked for Open House Singapore across its Buildathon and Founder House programs. The Arbitrum Foundation and the Robinhood Chain jointly sponsor the prizes and grants for OH Singapore.
OH Singapore Buildathon
Open Category - $70K
The top three Buildathon winners will take home a share of the $70K prize pool. The prize split is as follows:
- 1st Place - $40K USDC
- 2nd Place - $20K USDC
- 3rd Place - $10K USDC
A minimum of one of the top three spots will be reserved for a project building on the Robinhood Chain.
Promising Products Track - $15K
- 1st Place - $7K USDC
- 2nd Place - $5K USDC
- 3rd Place - $3K USDC
A special category has been reserved for up and coming new products entering frontier areas like AI agents, new financial primitives and more. The top three winners under this category will share $15K in prizes. At least one of the top three spots is reserved for products building on the Robinhood Chain.
Grants - $30K
In addition to the above prizes, $30K USDC has been reserved as grants by the Arbitrum Foundation for winning teams on a case-by-case basis.
Except for under the Promising Products Track, all the prize money amounts above are to be split 50/50 into upfront payments and milestone based payouts.
What Open House London Delivered
New York established the benchmark, London demonstrated how quickly the program is evolving. 350 builders participated in the online Buildathon; 278 projects were submitted. 140 founders joined the in-person Founder House. $315k in prizes has been allocated for the winners across both phases of the program.
What stood out was the breadth of ideas being built. Teams explored everything from AI-powered financial infrastructure and decentralized identity to prediction markets, institutional tooling, and consumer applications. Across categories, founders focused on solving real-world problems while leveraging the unique advantages of onchain systems.
Several winning teams are already continuing conversations around partnerships, ecosystem integrations, and fundraising, demonstrating the program’s ability to attract ambitious founders and accelerate promising projects beyond the competition itself.