The Midnight Foundation has announced a new partnership with Project Catalyst, the Cardano ecosystem’s community-led innovation programme, to launch a dedicated funding track in Catalyst’s upcoming Fund15 round.
Backed by the Midnight Foundation, this new Compact DApps category will fund open-source Proof of Concept (PoC) decentralized applications (DApps)—known as Reference DApps—that demonstrate how Midnight’s privacy technology can be applied in real-world use cases. Each project will also develop the open-source tools needed to help builders create privacy-enabled applications more easily.
The initiative leverages Catalyst’s robust governance and community voting framework to identify and support the most promising projects advancing programmable privacy on the Midnight blockchain.
Empowering Builders to Explore Privacy-Enabled Innovation
The new Midnight Compact DApp category aims to show how privacy technology can unlock innovation across industries, from finance and healthcare to AI and governance. Each funded project will produce open-source applications showcasing the potential of selective disclosure, Compact contracts, and other privacy features in action.
Kriss Baird, General Manager of Project Catalyst, added:
“We support a rich and collaborative ecosystem where proposers, reviewers, voters and milestone verifiers come together to turn ideas into positive outcomes. This dedicated Midnight category will give builders a clear brief: real-world privacy-by-design solutions, and the developer experience to bring them to market and create real use cases that will benefit the world.”
Focus Areas for Fund15
Projects may explore one or more of the following themes:
- Governance: Privacy-preserving civic platforms that remain fair and auditable.
- AI: Privacy-enabled AI systems that use data responsibly and with full consent.
- Health: Patient-owned data systems, research platforms, or telehealth tools.
- Finance: Compliant, privacy-first products such as private credit markets or regulated DeFi rails.
- Novel Concepts: Innovative applications that creatively leverage Midnight’s privacy technology.
Each project must include clear documentation, reusable code, and a demo UI, helping other developers adopt and adapt their work.
Open to Builders Worldwide
Submissions open 12 November and close 27 November. The Fund15 round is open to active builders proposing functional software prototypes with code as the primary outcome. Projects must:
- Be fully open source under MIT or Apache-2.0 licenses.
- Be completed within three months, with clear milestones.
- Come from verified teams with GitHub or LinkedIn profiles.
- Be built directly by the applicants (no outsourcing).
- Be in good standing with Project Catalyst.
Community Governance Meets Strategic Oversight
In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, project selection will follow a two-stage process combining community participation with strategic review:
- Community Voting: ADA holders will review and vote on proposals via Project Catalyst, producing a shortlist of community-endorsed projects.
- Foundation Review: The Midnight Foundation will evaluate the shortlisted proposals, make final funding decisions, and manage disbursements.
Community review begins in December, with voting in January and onboarding in February.
Fahmi Syed, President of the Midnight Foundation, said:
“Project Catalyst has proven to be one of the most accessible and impactful innovation engines for global good. With these Fund15 tracks, we’re equipping builders to deliver selective-disclosure applications and the TypeScript tooling they need to succeed—so privacy becomes a feature, not a barrier, for real-world enterprise and AI use cases.”
For more information on Fund15 and how to apply, please visit the website.