Binance Labs Rebrands to YZi Labs: Expands Focus to AI and Biotech with CZ in Mentorship Role

Binance Labs rebrands to YZi Labs; ushers in new leadership and investment focus

This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. The rebrand is a natural progression for the business. For years, the organization has operated independently while leveraging on the Binance brand name. Now, as CZ has stepped down from Binance, it is only natural for YZi Labs to also move on. Under this rebranding, CZ will continue to play a pivotal role in investment activities, directly engaging with founders and offering mentorship and coaching. His hands-on approach continues to highlight YZi Labs' commitment to adding value to the industry and providing founders with unique opportunities to grow with the support of a respectable leader in the field. Further strengthening YZi Labs' leadership, Ella Zhang returns as Head of YZi Labs. Together with CZ, Ella launched Binance Labs in 2018, where she served as its first head. During her tenure, she spearheaded the first three batches of the Incubation Program, supporting over 40 startups including Polygon, Injective Protocol, CertiK, Dune Analytics, Kava, SafePal, Elrond, and Nym. Ella stepped away in 2020 to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. Now returning to lead YZi Labs, Ella brings her deep investment expertise with a founder-focused perspective to steer the firm's next phase of growth. In the year ahead, YZi Labs will focus on investments in Web3, AI, and biotech, while exploring innovations at the intersection of these fields. Even with its broadened focus, YZi Labs remains laser-focused on the fundamentals, backing projects with the potential for long-term impact and supporting innovation that can drive the next wave of growth in the industry, regardless of market cycles or trends. The organization will also refine its incubation program, reintroducing in-person experiences through a 12-week residency designed to foster an immersive and collaborative environment for founders. "Rebranding to YZi Labs is more than a name change -- it signifies an expanded vision as we broaden our horizons to include transformative sectors like AI and biotech," said CZ. "We're thrilled to welcome Ella back to lead this next phase. Her expertise and vision were instrumental in shaping the organization's early success, and I'm confident that under her leadership, YZi Labs will continue identifying and backing founders who will drive long-term impact." "I'm excited to rejoin YZi Labs at this pivotal moment and reconnect with our founders and community. While the rebranding marks the start of a new chapter, our mission remains unchanged: to empower visionary founders who are building for the long term with strong execution. By venturing into new horizons in AI and biotech, while staying rooted in our Web3 foundations, we aim to push the boundaries of innovation and create lasting value for society," said Ella Zhang, Head of YZi Labs. All existing portfolio companies will continue to receive the same level of support under YZi Labs. The rebrand will not affect existing programs, resources, or initiatives, including the incubation program and support for BNB Chain's Most Valuable Builder (MVB) program.

Binance Labs Rebrands To YZi Labs, Names Changpeng Zhao In Key Role

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao will play a key role in investment activities. In a recent development, Binance Labs has announced its rebrand to YZi Labs. The investment firm also revealed plans to expand into other sectors and named former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao in a key leadership position. In an X post, Binance Labs announced that it has rebranded to YZi Labs. The company explained that it is fitting to step away from the Binance brand name as it expands its investment focus. The investment firm revealed that it would move beyond crypto and blockchain and expand its scope to include artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology (biotech). The firm also reaffirmed its steadfast dedication to advancing Web3 innovation. Binance Labs also mentioned that the rebrand was necessary, considering that Changpeng Zhao has stepped from the top crypto exchange. As such, the firm declared that it is only "natural" for YZi Labs to also move on from the Binance brand name. YZi Labs revealed that under this rebranding, CZ will continue to play a pivotal role in investment activities, as he will directly engage with founders and offer mentorship and coaching. The firm also announced that Ella Zhang will return as Head of YZi Labs. Zhang had launched Binance Labs in 2018 alongside CZ and served as the firm's first head. She is said to have spearheaded the first three batches of the Incubation Program, supporting over 40 startups, including Polygon, Injective Protocol, CertiK, Dune Analytics, Kava, SafePal, Elrond, and Nym. In the year ahead, YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) revealed that it will focus on investments in Web3, AI, and biotech while exploring innovations at the intersection of these fields. The firm also reaffirmed that it remains laser-focused on the fundamentals, backing projects with the potential for long-term impact and supporting innovation that can drive the next wave of growth in the industry, regardless of market cycles or trends. CZ also commented on the rebrand in an X post. He simply said, New year, new era, new name Although the former Binance CEO has stepped away from Binance, he remains actively involved in the crypto space. He even recently teased about buying the Bitcoin dip when the flagship crypto dropped below $100,000 last week.

Binance Labs rebrands, dives into AI as CZ returns as mentor

Binance Labs -- Binance's exchange technology incubator -- has rebranded to YZi Labs amid an expansion to include an investment focus on artificial intelligence and biotechnology. According to a Jan. 23 announcement, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao will take an active role in coaching and mentoring the incubator's startup companies. Ella Zhang, co-founder of Binance Labs, will also return as the head of the newly rebranded incubator program. Additionally, YZi Labs will reintroduce a 12-week in-person residency program for project founders. The newly rebranded company will explore the intersection between AI, blockchain and biotech to fund new use cases. Binance Labs had already been exploring investments in decentralized science projects and AI startups before the YZi rebrand. In August 2024, the firm announced investments in two AI companies to support the development of AI-powered decentralized applications. The first of these platforms was Sahara AI, which allows users to maintain intellectual property rights through onchain attribution and receive rewards for contributing to the decentralized AI's infrastructure, knowledge base and maintenance. Binance Labs also invested in MyShell, an AI startup that allows users to build and share AI-powered applications. In November, the incubator ventured into the decentralized science niche by investing in BIO Protocol, an accelerator program focused on capital formation for biotechnologies. More specifically, BIO Protocol supports a collection of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) committed to developing pharmaceutical drugs and life-saving treatments. Related: Blockchain and AI can enable advanced personalization in healthcare What is the purpose of decentralized science? Decentralized science (DeSci) is an emerging way to finance life-saving medicine that might otherwise face issues raising capital due to regulatory issues or a lack of sufficient profits for incumbent medical giants. Tokenized incentives, smart contracts and decentralized autonomous organizations give researchers the tools for proper capital formation, attribution, onchain peer review and borderless collaboration. Although DeSci is a nascent sector, projects within the space are starting to gain recognition beyond the crypto community. ResearchHub, a platform that pays researchers in crypto to peer-review papers, was featured in Nature -- one of the world's leading scientific journals -- in December 2024.