DoraHacks
also invests · investor profile5 known investors
Global hacker community and Web3 platform running hackathons, bounties and quadratic-voting grants for open-source developers.
Also known as DORA · HackerLink.io · Twenty-Second Century Dora Technology Holdings, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Investors · 5
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026DoraHacks is a global hacker community and Web3 developer platform that organizes hackathons and operates grant, bounty and developer-incentive infrastructure. The company connects open-source and blockchain developers with funding from ecosystem sponsors, and supports quadratic voting grants in which community members choose, vote and donate to projects.
The platform, dorahacks.io (formerly HackerLink.io), aggregates hackathon prizes, grants and bounties. Reported cumulative activity includes more than $40 million distributed to over 6,400 hackathon projects and startup teams as of early 2024, and more than $60 million facilitated by November 2024, with over 5,300 projects supported. Beyond events, DoraHacks has developed Dora Grant DAO, a decentralized grant community for post-hackathon, pre-investment projects, and Dora Infinite Fund (Dora Infinite Ventures), a permanent venture fund targeting Web3, quantum and space startups. Dora Factory is described as the company's DAO-as-a-Service incubation entity.
The company has run hackathons and grant programs with major blockchain ecosystems including Solana, Polygon, BNB Chain and Avalanche, and more recently with Ethereum layer-2 Taiko on a large anonymous community vote and with Sonic Labs on a $250,000 hackathon.
Founding story
The company traces its origin to a hackathon event bringing together developers, designers and entrepreneurs, which prompted the founders to build a sustained platform for the hacker community. Jiannan Zhang founded DoraHacks in 2014 in San Francisco, with co-founder Penny Wang; the initial business model provided recruiting services aimed at the difficulty enterprises faced finding top technical talent through traditional channels.
Business model
DoraHacks operates a platform business that sits between blockchain ecosystems and independent developers. Ecosystem sponsors such as layer-1 and layer-2 networks fund hackathons, bounties and community grant programs that DoraHacks designs and runs on its platform, while builders participate to win prizes, grants and follow-on funding. Adjacent lines include Dora Grant DAO, a decentralized grant community targeting projects between the post-hackathon and pre-investment stages, and Dora Infinite Fund, a permanent venture fund intended to invest in frontier technology startups. Dora Factory, described as DoraHacks' DAO-as-a-Service incubation arm, raised capital separately.
Revenue is associated with the events and programs it runs for ecosystem partners; the company projected event revenue growth of 40% from 2024 to 2025.
Traction
Reported figures include over 5,300 projects supported and more than $60 million in funding facilitated by November 2024; over $40 million in grants and contributions to over 6,400 projects and teams as of early 2024; more than 100 hackathons hosted globally in 2024 with $10 million in bounties; and partnerships with at least 20 mainstream Web3 ecosystems.
Latest developments
In January 2025, Sonic Labs announced a $250,000 Sonic DeFAI Hackathon in partnership with DoraHacks and Zerebro, and DoraHacks and Ethereum layer-2 Taiko executed a large anonymous community voting effort. Headcount reportedly grew from 25 employees in February 2024 to 32 by early 2025, and the company projected event revenue growth of 40% from 2024 to 2025.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
DoraHacks is a widely used hackathon and grant platform in the Web3 developer market, positioned alongside Gitcoin, ConsenSys, Polygon and Alchemy, and has worked with major chains including Solana, Polygon, BNB Chain and Avalanche.
DoraHacks combines hackathon operations with on-platform funding mechanisms — quadratic-voting grants, bounties, a grant DAO and a venture fund — rather than running events alone, and has established recurring programs across at least 20 mainstream Web3 ecosystems.
Technology
DoraHacks operates Web3 infrastructure and developer tooling launched in 2019, a developer incentive platform introduced in 2021, quadratic voting-based grant mechanisms, and anonymous on-chain community voting used in a large vote with Taiko.
Go-to-market
DoraHacks reaches developers through sponsored hackathons, bounties and grant rounds run in partnership with blockchain ecosystems and protocols, using those programs and associated prize pools to attract builders to its platform.
Open-source and Web3 developers, hacker teams and early-stage startups seeking funding, alongside blockchain ecosystems, protocols and enterprises that sponsor hackathons and grant programs.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, with hackathons organized in major cities worldwide since 2018 and a global developer community.
History
DoraHacks was founded in 2014 in San Francisco by Jiannan Zhang, with co-founder Penny Wang, under the legal name Twenty-Second Century Dora Technology Holdings, Inc. It began with recruiting-oriented services connecting hackers with enterprises and was among the early companies to offer tokenized equity through an equity crowdfunding campaign, with early seed backing that included $300,000 from Shata Capital. Key milestones emerged from around 2017; in 2018 it expanded internationally with hackathons in major cities, and in 2019 launched Web3 infrastructure services. Events moved to virtual formats in 2020, and a developer incentive platform was introduced in 2021. The platform, dorahacks.io, was formerly known as HackerLink.io. Financing included an $8 million strategic round from Binance Labs in 2021 and a $20 million Series B1 announced in May 2022.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 10
launches, deals, and filingsEthereum layer-2 Taiko and DoraHacks ran what was described as the largest anonymous community voting effort in crypto.
Sonic Labs announced a $250,000 hackathon in partnership with DoraHacks and Zerebro.
$250K source ↗
DoraHacks announced a $20 million Series B1 round to accelerate services including Dora Grant DAO and the launch of Dora Infinite Fund, a permanent venture fund.
$20M source ↗
Dora Factory, DoraHacks' DAO-as-a-Service incubation arm, raised a separate $20 million.
$20M source ↗
A decentralized grant community aimed at funding post-hackathon, pre-investment stage projects.
DoraHacks said it would launch Dora Infinite Fund, a permanent venture fund focused on frontier tech startups in Web3, quantum and space, with an NFT drop planned for the year.
The company raised $8 million from Binance Labs in a strategic round the year prior to its 2022 Series B1.
$8M source ↗
DoraHacks introduced a developer incentive platform offering rewards to contributors.
DoraHacks launched Web3 infrastructure services providing developers with tools and resources for building decentralized applications.
DoraHacks began organizing hackathons in major cities worldwide.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
- Web3 Hackathon Firm DoraHacks Raises $20M from FTX and Othersfinancemagnates.com · web
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does DoraHacks do?
- Global hacker community and Web3 platform running hackathons, bounties and quadratic-voting grants for open-source developers.
- Who founded DoraHacks?
- DoraHacks was founded by Jiannan Zhang.
- Who are DoraHacks's investors?
- DoraHacks's investors include Candaq Fintech Group, Mapleblock Capital, Signum Capital, Crypto com Capital.