- About
- Research Areas
- Funding
- Application & Evaluation
- Research Application Form
- Supported Research Projects
Technological innovation is the premise for the continuous growth and development of the blockchain industry. The Neo Foundation is interested in funding universities, research institutes, laboratories, consultancies and researchers to conduct applied research based on the Neo blockchain capabilities and roadmap.
We are looking for pioneering researchers to focus their applied research efforts in areas related to the Neo Foundation's vision and roadmap. In order to provide directional guidance, listed below are some relevant topics that the Neo Foundation is considering in its roadmap over the next 12-24 months. If you believe that we should sponsor applied research in areas related to the Neo that aren't currently in the list, then please feel free to submit a new request addressing the proposal using the Research Application Form. The following topics are listed alphabetically.
1. Consensus algorithm optimization
Goal: Under the premise of ensuring the stability and efficiency of the network, or to strengthen the decentralization of the Neo network.
2. Cryptography
Goal: Research the application of cryptography technology in Neo, including but not limited to cryptographic algorithms with anti-quantum, zero-knowledge, signature merge, and other characteristics.
3. Distributed infrastructure applications
Goal: Define the infrastructure in a decentralized network and propose specific development solutions.
4. Economic model optimization
Goal: Explore the application of cryptoeconomics in Neo and optimize Neo's economic model without affecting network performance or security. Investigations should seek to increase the usage scenarios of NEO and GAS, and facilitate the use of Neo network and discourage dishonest behaviours by optimizing incentives.
5. Interoperability across blockchains
Goal: Support asset swaps and general smart contract interoperability with popular blockchains to achieve frictionless cross-chain interactions and free flow of assets on Neo.
6. Large-scale enterprise adoption
Goal: Support blockchain-related industry research and development related to the Neo industry layout.
7. NeoVM upgrades & optimization
Goal: Help refine a fast, efficient virtual machine optimized for processing cryptographic operations and Turing-complete smart contracts.
8. On-chain governance
Goal: Increase the participation of Neo holders in the network's governance and the mechanism's efficacy to improve security and encourage further decentralization.
9. Privacy
Goal: Build transparent and privacy-preserving digital infrastructure or provide related support.
10. Scalability
Goal: Allow Neo transaction capacity to scale to support large-scale commercial applications, including but not limited to state channels, sharding, rollups, P2P network optimization etc.
11. Security
Goal: Strengthen the stability of Neo network and enhance its anti-attack capacity.
12. Tokenization and circulation of digital assets
Goal: Define and design asset tokenization and circulation models, and grow the number of real-world usage scenarios for digital assets.
The average funding for a research project is around $10,000 to $100,000. However, if the project can provide extraordinary value to the Neo Foundation, additional funding may be possible. Most of the projects should be expected to be completed within 6 months, complex ones no longer than 12 months.
We attach importance to the application of research results, which may bring real-world improvements to the Neo Blockchain. Expected output and results of the applied research include but are not limited to:
- shipping code on TestNet
- protocol and related specification(s)
- reference implementation(s)
- prototype(s)
- technical report(s) with experimental results
Fill in the Research Application Form with details of the proposed research project and send to grants@neo.org. The Neo Foundation Grants Committee will contact the team within two weeks of receipt of the application. Applicants should clearly clarify the research goals and expected outcomes with the Neo Foundation in order to ensure the application will bring potential technical breakthroughs to Neo.
Applicants may be an institution, organization, team, or individual, but the principal researcher in charge of the research project needs to be designated, and he/she is expected to collate and submit the applied research results.
After fully understanding the goals and objectives of the research project, suggestions can be made in conjunction with Neo's strategic needs. On reaching agreement, the Committee will send feedback to inform the applicant of the final decision and corresponding requirements.
Once the research results are completed as scheduled, please send the research report with relevant outputs to grants@neo.org.
The Committee will check the deliverables according to the milestones previously set in the application, and may organize peer review for further feedback. If there are specific suggestions for improvement, the team should refer to them.
50% of the funding will be sent once the team’s application is accepted by the Neo Foundation, and the remaining funding will be released after the applied research results are submitted.
Please list the topic on which you intend to focus your research.
Please introduce the context of the research topic, its main goal and the primary problems to be solved. Please also detail the expected result format, such as a prototype, programmable code, monograph, research report, etc.
Please introduce the research plan and its milestones, and indicate its conditions and guarantees and risk points for completing the project. Please also put forward the suggested evaluation indicators.
Please introduce the applicant’s background and its team members with past research publications or successful applications. Please also indicate the principal researcher and his/her resume and contact.
Please list the funding request and its usage.
| Project | Institution | PIC | Duartion | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consensus mechanism research and optimization | NeoResearch | Igor, Vitor | 2019.7-2020.9 | Completed |
| Privacy and anonymity solutions for Neo | NeoResearch | Igor, Vitor | 2019.7-2019.12 | Completed |
| Cryptoeconomic properties of the Neo blockchain and dBFT mechanism | RMIT Blockchain Innovatoin Hub | Jason Potts | 2018.6-2019.1 | Completed |
| Consensus optimization strategies | NeoResearch | Igor, Vitor | 2018.6-2019.5 | Completed |
| High-performance Neo-VM | NeoResearch | Igor, Vitor | 2018.6-2019.5 | Completed |