YZi Labs Launches $1B Builder Fund for BNB

YZi Labs, rebranded from Binance Labs and closely associated with Binance co‑founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, has launched a $1 billion Builder Fund to back founders building on the BNB Chain across DeFi, AI, real‑world assets, payments, wallets, decentralized science and biotech. The fund will provide capital, tools, integrations, mentorship and access to YZi/BNB’s ~460 million‑user ecosystem, and folds the BNB Chain’s Most Valuable Builder accelerator into YZi’s EASY Residency program, which can provide founders up to $500,000 in direct support and is expanding Season 2 to hubs in New York, San Francisco, Dubai and Singapore. YZi cited surging BNB metrics — including roughly 26 million daily transactions and top global DEX trading volumes — and protocol upgrades such as the Maxwell hardfork that shortened block times and lowered fees. The announcement points to prior investments (PancakeSwap, ListaDAO, Aspecta, Aster) and institutional initiatives like a BNB Digital Asset Treasury and RWA funds as foundations for scaling adoption. The initiative combines incubation, direct investment and partnerships to accelerate builders from ideation to scaling and positions YZi as a principal backer and incubator for the next phase of decentralized infrastructure. YZi also noted it operates differently from a traditional family office.