YZi Labs, the rebranded investment arm formerly known as Binance Labs, has announced a $1 billion Builder Fund dedicated to supporting founders within the BNB ecosystem, with a specific focus on BNB Chain. The fund, revealed on October 8, 2025, aims to foster innovation in key sectors such as DeFi, artificial intelligence (AI), real-world assets (RWA), decentralized science (DeSci), payments, and wallets.
According to Wu Blockchain, the fund will provide startups with up to $500,000 in capital, along with tools, integrations, and access to YZi Labs' extensive ecosystem of 460 million users. This initiative is designed to help early-stage projects grow by offering strategic mentorship, developer workshops, and collaborations with partners like CoinMarketCap to expand their reach.
Ella Zhang, President of YZi Labs, emphasized the fund's goal: "The BNB Ecosystem represents the next phase of digital infrastructure, where decentralization, on-chain scalability, and true distribution meet security. Through this $1 billion BNB Creator Fund, we are committed to supporting creators across DeFi, AI, RWA, DeSci, and more." YZi Labs, which manages $10 billion in assets and has invested in over 300 projects across 25 countries, highlighted its portfolio including notable BNB-based projects like PancakeSwap, ListaDAO, Aster, and Aspecta.
The announcement coincides with BNB reaching a record high above $1,330 on October 7th and BNB Chain achieving 26 million in sales, underscoring the timing of this strategic move to bolster the ecosystem's growth and global positioning.