draft blog announcement

src/_blog/2025-05-grants.md

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+---
+title: Spring 2025 IPFS Utility Grantees
+description: "We're delighted to announce the grantees for the Spring 2025 round of IPFS Utility Grants."
+author: Robin Berjon
+date: 2025-05-12
+permalink: '/2025-05-grants/'
+header_image: '/utility-grants.png'
+tags:
+  - grants
+  - funding
+  - ecosystem
+---
+
+The IPFS Implementations Grants program exists to advance the development, growth, and impact of the IPFS project
+through a focus on developer choice and availability. We provide financial support to projects and teams working to
+make IPFS accessible to more developer communities.
+
+We recently ran [the Spring 2025 grant session for utilities](https://ipfsgrants.io/utility-grants/), which supports
+developers creating essential utilities, libraries, and tooling. It was a tight competition with strong contenders
+and we're delighted with the grantees who came out of this round.
+
+## rsky-satnav from Rudy Fraser
+
+If you're anywhere near work on the [AT Protocol](https://atproto.com/) then you surely know Rudy, among other things for his
+work on [BlackSky](https://www.blackskyweb.xyz/) and the [rsky](https://github.com/blacksky-algorithms/rsky)
+(say "risky") projects.
+
+The grant will go to [rsky-satnav](https://github.com/blacksky-algorithms/rsky/tree/main/rsky-satnav) (Structured
+Archive Traversal, Navigation And Verification — we do appreciate a quality acronym), a local-first and user-friendly
+[CAR](https://dasl.ing/car.html) explorer for AT Protocol.
+
+CAR archives are a very convenient part of the IFPS ecosystem, used to package up multiple CID-addressed resources
+in one bundle, and AT Protocol PDSs rely on them for data exports. But end users, even technical ones, have found
+dealing with CAR files challenging due to a lack of tooling. We really look forward to playing with rsky-satnav
+ourselves!
+
+## CAR indexing from Ben Lau
+
+Another issue with CAR is indexing: storing a CAR archive with a given service may make it challenging to
+discover its contents the archive is treated as an opaque blob.
+
+Ben and team at [Starling Lab](https://starlinglab.org/) are developing a browser-based tool to help
+locate the content of CAR archives, without relying on public indexing services. It's definitely going to
+boost that part of the ecosystem!
+
+And beyond that, stay tuned: we will have more annoucements coming.