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Binance Labs Gets Major Overhaul With CZ Taking Active Role in Investments
The former venture capital arm of Binance will become the family office of CZ and Binance co-founder Yi He, Bloomberg reported.
Updated Jan 23, 2025, 10:03 p.m. Published Jan 23, 2025, 6:59 p.m.
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What to know:
- Binance Labs, the crypto exchange giant's venture capital arm, has been rebranded to YZi Labs, with former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao taking a more active role in investments.
- YZi labs will turn into a family office of CZ and Binance co-founder Yi He, Bloomberg reported.
- CZ was sentenced to four-month prison last year and stepped down from its leadership position at Binance as part of a guilty plea in the U.S.
Binance Labs, the former investment arm of exchange giant Binance, gets a major overhaul under a new name, YZi Labs, with former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao being closely involved in the operations, the firm announced on Thursday.
The rebrand means that the investment firm turns from being the exchange's venture capital arm into the family office of CZ and Binance co-founder Yi He, Bloomberg reported. Binance spun off Binance Labs into a separate company last year.
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"Under this rebranding, [CZ] will take a more active role in investment activities, directly engaging with founders and offering mentorship and coaching," YZi Labs said in an X post. The firm also expands its investment focus beyond web3 to artificial intelligence and biotech.
Zhao co-founded and led Binance to become the world's top crypto exchange by trading volume. Last April, Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) by failing to set up an adequate know-your-customer (KYC) program at Binance. As part of his guilty plea, he agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down as CEO of the crypto exchange. He was released in September.
Read more: Freed From Prison, Binance Founder CZ Gets Ovation in Dubai and Talks New Educational Venture
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