YZi Labs, the rebranded investment arm formerly known as Binance Labs, has announced a strategic investment in USD.AI, a yield-bearing synthetic dollar stablecoin protocol designed to provide hardware-backed credit to AI operators. This move signals YZi Labs' growing commitment to supporting foundational infrastructure that addresses the massive capital needs of the artificial intelligence sector, estimated to require over $6.7 trillion for compute infrastructure in the next five years.
Built by Permian Labs, USD.AI allows infrastructure providers and AI companies to access non-dilutive loans backed 1:1 by physical compute hardware, with loans closing in under a week compared to the 60–90 days typical of traditional financing. Depositors receive a sustainable asset-backed yield, and the protocol has already secured backing from top-tier investors including Framework, Dragonfly, Digital Currency Group, Delphi, and Fintech Collective.
The protocol's adoption has been rapid, growing from virtually zero in June to more than $62.7 million in total value locked (TVL) by August 2025. According to DeFiLlama data, deposits surged past $10 million by mid-June, climbed steadily into the $30–40 million range in July, and accelerated again in August to reach their current all-time high. Borrowing activity remains modest at $1.25 million, reflecting an early phase of adoption where most users currently utilize USD.AI as a savings and yield platform.
USD.AI has also formed key partnerships with K3 Capital, Concrete, Euler, and Pendle to launch innovative "AutoVaults" that allow depositors to earn optimized yields across DeFi markets. Pendle, in particular, has been a key supporter, recently launching Boost USDai and sUSDai vaults that integrate with USD.AI’s ecosystem.
On August 14, USD.AI raised $13 million in Series A funding led by Framework Ventures. With $50 million already in deposits during private beta, USD.AI plans a public launch featuring an ICO and a game-based allocation model.
YZi Labs, which manages over $10 billion in assets globally and has backed more than 300 projects across 25 countries, said its decision to support USD.AI reflects a belief that new financial primitives are needed to scale AI infrastructure. David Choi, co-founder of USD.AI, framed the project as a lifeline for a new class of builders who have hardware but lack traditional financing channels: "Not everyone has a CFO or a Wall Street connection. But they do have machines and a future to build."