Implement NEAR AI Incubation Landing Page and Integrate with near.org/founders

[jbarnes850]

Implement NEAR AI Incubation Landing Page and Integrate with near.org/founders

Context

We currently have two separate websites focusing on founders:

• near.org/founders for general ecosystem support and founder relations
• hzn.xyz/hzn for our accelerator and incubation programs

This separation can lead to:

• Confusion for users navigating between the sites
• Reduced discoverability for potential partners, founders, and stakeholders
• Inconsistent messaging and branding across our founder-focused initiatives

Additionally, our current NEAR Horizon website doesn't fully reflect our new focus on the AI Incubation Program. (see the current NEAR Horizon codebase: https://github.com/near-horizon/)

Solution

1. Update the NEAR Horizon landing page (hzn.xyz/hzn):

• Implement the new design from our Figma file - this is ready for development as the current Horizon website is written in typescript.
• Update the codebase located at: https://github.com/near-horizon/horizon/tree/dev/web/src/components/hzn

2. Ensure proper backlinking between websites:

• Add clear navigation links between hzn.xyz and near.org/founders
• The new Horizon website has a consistent navigation header that is the same as near.org to enable proper backlinking.

3. Add a banner to near.org: (optional)

• Create a prominent banner at the top of near.org that points to the AI Incubation program on hzn.xyz
• This was highly successful in driving traffic to the landing page in March / April 2024.

4. Update links on the new NEAR AI Incubation Website:

• Read NEAR AI Master Plan: www.near.ai
• Apply for the NEAR AI Incubation Program: https://airtable.com/appc0ZVhbKj8hMLvH/pagVX3hSxzIj4Y680/form
• Join Office Hours with Illia Polosukhin: https://www.youtube.com/@NEARProtocol/streams
• # for exclusive Telegram community: https://airtable.com/appFoIqAoY0ikoVIb/pagU0oUzjCQPIYfqz/form

Additional context

• The new website design is crucial for promoting our new incubation program and attracting top-tier AI projects and partners (the content and value prop is completely different from what we previously promoted). We aren using this the new website as a scalable mechanism to drive awareness about our AI specific program offerings.
• We aim to drive awareness towards our incubation platform while maintaining the separate identity of our general ecosystem support.
• Please see the attached Figma Design: HZN Client Copy

Goals for deployment

• NEAR Horizon landing page (hzn.xyz/hzn) updated with new design
• Clear navigation and backlinking implemented between hzn.xyz and near.org/founders
• Banner added to near.org pointing to AI Incubation program
• All links on the new NEAR AI Incubation Website updated and functional

Resources

• Figma Design: HZN Client Copy
• Current Hzn.xyz codebase: https://github.com/near-horizon/horizon/tree/dev/web/src/components/hzn
• Note The hzn.xyz website is currently hosted on Vercel.