The fellowships put startup support at the center of the arrangement. UCLA Anderson’s Venture Accelerator works with UCLA-linked companies through its entrepreneurship program, giving founders access to advisers and a network of business and alumni contacts. For companies considering blockchain products, the new fellowships add a way to test an idea while taking part in that existing program.
Nadia Mannell, the Cardano Foundation’s director for commercialisation and ecosystem growth, said the partnership would let the foundation work with founders through its Academy and Venture Hub as they develop companies on Cardano. She described technical support, ecosystem access and operating guidance as parts of that work.
The Venture Hub was already part of the foundation’s plans before the UCLA agreement. In September 2025, a report on Cardano’s roadmap described a planned commitment of 2 million $ADA to the hub by 2026. The UCLA announcement identifies the hub as one route for founder engagement; it does not assign that earlier commitment to the five fellowships.
Cardano Academy content will enter a UCLA course in 2027
Beginning in 2027, Cardano Academy content and case studies will be incorporated into Blockchain Cryptocurrency Applications in Business and Finance. The UCLA Anderson course is taught by Alex Nascimento, an alumnus of the school’s 2008 MBA class. According to the partnership announcement, students will use the material in practical exercises and project-based work.
The arrangement gives students a path from learning how blockchain systems operate to examining where a business might use one. Cardano Academy offers instruction on blockchain fundamentals and Cardano topics, including governance, staking, and application development. The foundation also offers courses and certifications through the Academy.
Before the 2027 course begins, the Academy and Nascimento will run Cardano for the Real World: Blockchain, AI, and Building the Next Big Thing on Oct. 19. The interactive session will cover enterprise Web3 applications, infrastructure for decentralized AI agents, and uses of blockchain outside crypto trading. Students will work in teams on business designs, make short pitches, and explore AI-assisted smart contract development.
Students who complete the masterclass will receive a certification sponsored by the Cardano Foundation, according to the announcement. Nascimento said students and founders need to know how blockchain and AI can be applied to products and business models, with the session designed to help them assess ideas they could turn into companies.
The AI-agent topic has a recent Cardano development behind it. On Sept. 22, crypto.news covered Cardano’s x402 integration, which gives developers tools to build applications and AI agents that pay for online services with $ADA or Cardano-native tokens. The report said the initial software release supported TypeScript and that a payment facilitator had completed a transaction on Cardano’s pre-production network.
The UCLA partnership also includes a 2027 showcase
The Cardano Foundation will sponsor the 2027 UCLA Draper Innovation Showcase, adding educational sessions, founder meetings and networking to the event’s programming. The showcase gives the partnership another scheduled venue after the October masterclass and the start of the 2027 course.
Trish Halamandaris, director of the Venture Accelerator at UCLA Anderson, said the agreement would give students hands-on exposure to blockchain and AI while opening funding and mentorship opportunities for founders in UCLA Accelerate. In her statement, she tied the classroom work to the accelerator’s focus on applying ideas in new companies.
The location makes the U.S. connection direct: the teaching, fellowships and founder events will take place through a Los Angeles business school and its accelerator. The announced activities concern education and company development. The foundation did not announce a U.S. investment product, an $ADA offering or a regulatory filing as part of the partnership.
Outside the United States, the foundation has worked with universities and public bodies on related programs. In June, coverage of its Brazil projects noted that the foundation had announced a Cardano Project Development Lab with the University of Brasília in May. That lab focuses on blockchain, AI, connected devices, digital identity, governance, and public-sector tools.
The foundation also named the University of Zurich and PUC-Rio among its existing academic collaborations in the UCLA announcement. At UCLA Anderson, the next dated activity under the new agreement is the Oct. 19 masterclass, followed by the planned course integration and Draper Innovation Showcase sponsorship in 2027.
