Pioneers Criticize Pi Network’s $100 Million Ventures Fund as Ecosystem Progress Lags

The Pi Network team is facing criticism after launching Pi Network Ventures, a $100 million fund to support startups building on its ecosystem.

Announced on May 14, the initiative drew sharp rebuke from the project’s community, known as Pioneers, who had expected more tangible progress after waiting six years.

Analyst Slams Pi Team for Using Community Funds to Build Unfinished DApps

Dr. Altcoin voiced his concerns in a recent X (formerly Twitter) post.

“After six years of dedication, mining, promoting, and waiting, Pioneers expected a thriving ecosystem. Instead, we have learned that most of the promised 100 DApps still do not exist, and a 100 million dollar fund will now be used to build them,” the post read.

He argued that the team repeatedly postponed the mainnet launch from 2022 to 2025. A key reason for these delays was the need to ensure that 100 fully operational Pi apps were either live or ready for the Mainnet. However, he suggested that this is not the case.

“The Core Team plans to use part of the 100 million dollar fund—value generated through the sweat, belief, and patience of the Pioneer community—to finally build what should have already been in place,” he added.

The analyst also highlighted several issues within the Pi Network. These have caused significant frustration among the community and eroded trust.

He claimed that while the team promised referral rewards and ambassador bonuses, most Pioneers never received them. Additionally, he condemned the delays in the KYC process, which hindered smooth onboarding. 

Transparency concerns have also surfaced. Dr. Altcoin questioned the allocation of millions in ad revenue generated over the years through the Pi Network’s in-app advertising system.

He criticized the Core Team’s perceived lack of accountability. The analyst noted that previous initiatives like hackathons, designed to encourage developers to create and launch these decentralized apps (DApps), have not yielded the expected results. 

Adding to the criticism, another analyst highlighted a procedural issue with the Pi Network Ventures fund. He pointed out that applications for the $100 million fund are being collected via a Google Form. He described this approach as “a big shame” for a project of Pi Network’s scale and ambition. 

This is a big shame , has big has @PiCoreTeam claimed , you apply for there 100m pi network venture application with Google form. 6 years on building indeed.

— ETO (Earnathon) (@nwabishop) May 15, 2025

The market’s reaction was reflective of the backlash. BeInCrypto reported that following the announcement of Pi Network Ventures, the price of Pi Coin plummeted below $1. 

“Clear proof the announcement did not meet expectations. If it had, the market would have reacted with confidence, not disappointment,” Dr. Altcoin remarked. 

However, not all Pioneers share the same sentiment. A user, Dimas Nawawi, addressed the criticism on X.

“If there are influencers and Pioneers who are disappointed with CT’s policy, I’m sure they don’t properly understand the purpose of Pi Network and only have a personal goal to get rich quickly,” Nawawi stated.

He explained that the Pi Network Ventures announcement is closely tied to the current stage of development of the Mainnet Node environment. 

“As I always say, there will be no dApps launch and GCV implementation in the Ecosystem until Nodes, Supernodes, and Smart Contracts are activated,” Nawawi said.

He reminded the community that Pi is still in an early phase called the ‘Limited Open Network.’ Moreover, he believes only the most dedicated Pioneers will succeed in the long run.