Key Highlights
- CertiK and YZi Labs created a $1M audit grant pool for EASY Residency participants.
- The package includes audits, Skynet monitoring, and AI-driven scanning.
- The move positions security as a default in incubation, not an optional “later” upgrade.
CertiK and YZi Labs have teamed up to raise the security floor for early-stage Web3 startups, announcing a $1 million audit grant tied to the EASY Residency program. The initiative, announced on Tuesday, targets founders at the earliest and riskiest phase, offering funded audits as part of the incubation process to catch vulnerabilities before products hit real users and real capital.
The grant aims to provide subsidized smart contract audits, Skynet monitoring, and AI-powered security scanning to startups building across Web3, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. EASY Residency, operated by YZi Labs, is a global incubation program focused on long-term value creation rather than rapid token launches.
Security moves upstream
Under the partnership, CertiK will allocate the $1 million pool exclusively to EASY Residency projects, reducing one of the most common early-stage tradeoffs: shipping fast versus securing code. YZi Labs will facilitate direct connections between founders and CertiK’s audit and monitoring teams, integrating security earlier into the product lifecycle.
Ella Zhang, who leads YZi Labs, said founders should be obsessing over whether anyone actually wants their product, not losing sleep over attack surfaces and audit bills. That burden, in this setup, gets pushed to specialists who deal with breakpoints for a living.
CertiK CEO Ronghui Gu struck a similar note, but zoomed the lens out. This isn’t meant to be a logo-swap or a feel-good sponsorship. It’s an attempt to hard-wire security into how new Web3 companies are built, nudging the ecosystem away from shortcuts and toward infrastructure that can survive real money, real users, and real attackers.
A shift in incubation priorities
The initiative reflects a broader shift away from speed-at-all-costs development. As exploits and protocol failures continue to drain billions from the sector, security is increasingly being treated as a baseline requirement rather than a post-launch upgrade.
YZi Labs’ involvement also signals an evolution in its incubation model. EASY Residency Season 2 expanded globally across Dubai, San Francisco, New York, and Singapore, combining capital, mentorship, and embedded security support. Participating startups can receive up to $500,000 in funding and guidance from industry leaders spanning crypto, AI, and biotech.
Raising the bar for early-stage Web3
Since 2017, CertiK has audited thousands of projects and monitored hundreds of billions in digital assets. Additionally, it has uncovered a number of bugs that would have otherwise gone live.
The partnership shifts where security shows up in the startup lifecycle. Instead of being bolted on after growth charts start hockey-sticking, audits are now part of the admission price. That raises the bar. Founders lose the excuse to “move fast and patch later,” and investors get startups that may ship slower, but are far less likely to blow up on first contact with real users.
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