Hedera Foundation
Hedera Foundation is a Cayman Islands non-profit foundation that provides grants, technical assistance, mentoring, and community support to Web3 builders, developers, and enterprises developing on the Hedera hashgraph distributed ledger network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersGeorge Town, Cayman Islands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Hedera Foundation does
Hedera Foundation is a Cayman Islands-domiciled non-profit foundation (Hedera Foundation SEZC, headquartered at 190 Elgin Ave., George Town) that supports adoption of the Hedera distributed ledger network. Founded in 2014 and rebranded from HBAR Foundation to Hedera Foundation effective January 1, 2025 under new CEO Charles Adkins, the foundation provides grants, technical assistance, mentoring, and community engagement to Web3 builders, developers, and enterprises developing on the Hedera network across six focus areas: Crypto Economy, Metaverse, Sustainability, Fintech, Privacy, and Female Founders.
The foundation's product surface centers on the underlying Hedera hashgraph network — a public distributed ledger using proprietary hashgraph consensus with native HBAR cryptocurrency for transaction fees — and an expanding suite of open-source tools including Asset Tokenization Studio (RWA deployment), Hedera Guardian (carbon credit MRV and sustainability, integrated with the UNDP-initiated DPG National Carbon Registry via Xeptagon), Stablecoin Studio, and the upcoming On-Chain Grant Management Platform. Strategic integrations in 2025 added WBTC via BitGo/BiT Global/LayerZero, YieldFX FLEX (decentralized FX), and tokenized Fidelity International USD Money Market Fund via Archax.
As a non-profit, Hedera Foundation does not generate revenue in the traditional sense; it operates as an ecosystem accelerator deploying capital via grant funding programs, complemented by technical and business development support, partnerships with institutions like the ERC3643 Association, Nairobi Securities Exchange, and McLaren Racing, and a global team of 11-50 spanning engineering, marketing, business development, and finance. Its GTM is primarily community-led through developer relations, content marketing, and ecosystem events, augmented by high-profile event-driven initiatives such as the multi-year McLaren F1/IndyCar partnership.
Hedera Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hedera Foundation
- Legal name
- Hedera Foundation SEZC
- Website
- https://hedera.foundation
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Hedera Foundation is a Cayman Islands non-profit foundation that provides grants, technical assistance, mentoring, and community support to Web3 builders, developers, and enterprises developing on the Hedera hashgraph distributed ledger network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hedera Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Blockchain Foundation and Web3 Ecosystem Development
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Grants, Funding & Budget Allocation Platforms (FSAPAHAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)
Keywords
Where Hedera Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- George Town
- HQ country
- Cayman Islands
Offices1 record
Markets served
Hedera Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Grant Funding Program: Hedera Foundation operates funding programs that support DeFi and enterprise projects driving Hedera network adoption while delivering positive social and global impact. The foundation provides financial support along with expert assistance in technology, marketing, and business development.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
Hedera Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hedera Foundation is a non-profit foundation that drives adoption of the Hedera network by providing grants, funding programs, technical assistance, marketing support, business development resources, and community engagement to Web3 builders, developers, and enterprises. The foundation supports projects across DeFi, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, AI integration, sustainability, digital identity, and enterprise blockchain verticals through a proposal-based funding process.
Product overview
Hedera Foundation (formerly HBAR Foundation, rebranded January 2025) provides the community, capital, and commerce to drive adoption of Hedera — the world's leading public network powered by hashgraph consensus. The ecosystem centers on the Hedera Network with its native HBAR cryptocurrency, offering unmatched security, lightning-fast transactions, ultra-low costs, and predictable fees. Built on this foundation, the suite of open-source tools includes Asset Tokenization Studio for creating auditable financial instruments, Hedera Guardian for sustainability and carbon tracking, and Stablecoin Studio for stablecoin creation. FLEX provides decentralized foreign exchange capabilities. The funding program supports DeFi and enterprise projects with financial, technical, marketing, and business development assistance. Key strategic focus areas include RWA tokenization, DeFi, AI, and sustainability.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Hedera Foundation Funding Program Comprehensive funding program supporting DeFi and enterprise projects that drive Hedera network adoption while delivering positive social and global impact. Offers financial support plus expert assistance in technology, marketing, and business development through a proposal submission process for builders and developers.
- On-Chain Grant Management Platform Transparent on-chain grant management platform empowering the Hedera community to participate directly in the funding process, aligning project support with community needs and values through transparent and decentralized grant administration.
Companies that use Hedera Foundation
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Hedera Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature4 records
Hedera Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.
- McLaren RacingflagshipMulti-year partnership making Hedera an Official Partner of both the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team and the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team. Collaboration delivers Web3 fan engagement experiences including free-to-claim digital collectibles during F1 Grand Prix weekends and IndyCar collectibles for 2026 season. Hedera branding appears on McLaren F1 cars, driver suits, and IndyCar vehicles. SPORTFIVE brokered the deal.
- SPORTFIVEminorGlobal sports marketing agency that brokered the McLaren Racing partnership deal and continues to advise on partnership strategy and execution.
- BitGo, BiT Global, and LayerZerocoreCollaboration to launch WBTC (wrapped Bitcoin) on the Hedera network. Integration allows Bitcoin holders to participate in Hedera's DeFi ecosystem, providing secure, transparent, and institutional-grade liquidity options.
- Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)coreNSE Innovation Lab launched in Kenya with Hedera Foundation and Hashgraph as first strategic technology partners. Initiative aims to drive digital transformation, innovation, and financial inclusion in Africa's capital markets, supporting NSE's 2025-2029 strategy.
- YieldFXminorYieldFX announced launch of FLEX, a decentralized foreign currency exchange on Hedera Network. Platform democratizes access to global currency yields and FX trading for retail investors and SMBs using hybrid market-making and YFX governance token.
- ERC3643 AssociationcoreHBAR Foundation joined the ERC3643 Association to help scale adoption of ERC-3643, the leading industry standard for compliant real-world asset tokenization with $32 billion in tokenized assets. The T-REX standard enables permissioned tokens with identity management for regulatory compliance.
- XeptagoncorePartnership to integrate the UNDP-initiated DPG (Digital Public Goods) National Carbon Registry with Hedera Guardian. Xeptagon integrates the registry enabling countries to leverage the largest digitalized open-source methodology library for auditable carbon credit issuances.
- ArchaxcoreHBAR Foundation invested in Archax's tokens representing Fidelity International's USD Money Market Fund shares on Hedera. Archax is the first FCA-regulated digital asset exchange, broker, and custodian. Investment supports institutional tokenization and enables tokenized securities as Proof-of-Reserves for stablecoin treasury verification.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hedera Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Ethereum Foundation: The Ethereum Foundation is the largest and most established blockchain ecosystem foundation, stewarding grants, research, and developer support for the Ethereum network. It is the benchmark ecosystem foundation against which Hedera Foundation competes for builder mindshare and developer ecosystem leadership.
- Web3 Foundation: The Web3 Foundation stewards the Polkadot ecosystem, funding research and development for cross-chain interoperability. It is comparable as a broader ecosystem foundation with a similar grant-based model for funding public network development.
Direct peers
- Stellar Development Foundation: The Stellar Development Foundation supports the Stellar blockchain ecosystem, particularly focused on tokenization, payments, and financial inclusion use cases that overlap directly with Hedera Foundation's RWA tokenization and emerging-market (e.g., NSE Kenya) focus areas.
- Aptos Foundation: The Aptos Foundation funds ecosystem development on the Aptos network, a competing L1 focused on safety, scalability, and enterprise use cases. It is comparable as a peer foundation targeting similar Web3 builder and developer audiences — Adkins also previously worked at Aptos.
- Avalanche Foundation: The Avalanche Foundation provides grants and ecosystem support for builders on the Avalanche network, a competing high-performance L1. It is comparable as a peer ecosystem foundation competing for the same RWA tokenization and enterprise builder segments.
- Algorand Foundation: The Algorand Foundation funds ecosystem development on the Algorand network, a competing enterprise-grade L1 with a similar positioning around sustainability, low fees, and institutional use cases. It is comparable as a peer foundation with overlapping institutional and developer mandates.
- Polygon Labs Foundation: Polygon Labs operates ecosystem programs, grants, and developer tooling for the Polygon L2 ecosystem. It is a relevant peer as a high-profile Web3 foundation targeting enterprise and tokenization use cases — notably, CEO Charles Adkins previously worked at Polygon Labs, indicating prior operational overlap.
- Solana Foundation: The Solana Foundation funds ecosystem development, grants, and developer programs for the Solana network, a competing high-throughput public L1. It is the closest direct peer given similar focus on performance, low-cost transactions, and ecosystem grants to attract Web3 builders.
- Hashgraph Association: The Hashgraph Association is a Swiss non-profit that funds non-US enterprise DLT deployment on Hedera, operating as a sibling ecosystem foundation with overlapping mandate and target builder audience. It is the most structurally comparable entity, though geographically focused outside the US.
Emerging players
- Gnosis Foundation: The Gnosis Foundation supports Gnosis Chain ecosystem development, with focus on prediction markets, DAOs, and decentralized infrastructure. It is comparable as a Web3 ecosystem foundation focused on builder support, though operating at smaller scale than tier-1 foundation peers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hedera Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceHedera Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hedera Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Hedera Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hedera Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments3 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hedera Foundation
What does Hedera Foundation do?
Hedera Foundation is a non-profit foundation that drives adoption of the Hedera network by providing grants, funding programs, technical assistance, marketing support, business development resources, and community engagement to Web3 builders, developers, and enterprises. The foundation supports projects across DeFi, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, AI integration, sustainability, digital identity, and enterprise blockchain verticals through a proposal-based funding process.
Is Hedera Foundation a public or private company?
Hedera Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Hedera Foundation founded?
Hedera Foundation was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Hedera Foundation based?
Hedera Foundation is headquartered in George Town, Cayman Islands.
How does Hedera Foundation make money?
One revenue line is on record: grant Funding Program.
Who are Hedera Foundation's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Ethereum Foundation and Web3 Foundation. Direct peers are Stellar Development Foundation, Aptos Foundation, Avalanche Foundation, Algorand Foundation, Polygon Labs Foundation, Solana Foundation and Hashgraph Association. Gnosis Foundation is listed as an emerging player.
Does Hedera Foundation have an API?
Yes. Hedera application programming interfaces (APIs) and developer tools make it easy to build, test, and deploy decentralized apps (dApps) with the cost, speed, and scale needed for enterprise and retail markets.
What industry is Hedera Foundation in?
Hedera Foundation's product category is Blockchain Foundation and Web3 Ecosystem Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPAHAE, Grants, Funding & Budget Allocation Platforms, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 6199.