Binance Labs’ VC Arm To Be Led by Co-Founder Yi He

The startup financing and incubator arm of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance has chosen co-founder and CMO Yi He to manage Binance Labs. The firm said in a statement on Wednesday that she will be in charge of Binance Labs’ overall strategy and day-to-day operations while focusing on investments in “capable, driven founders who will play a role in shaping the future of the industry.”

“As a leading player in the space, my goal is to help define the industry standard by identifying and supporting sustainable projects and building an ecosystem of quality blockchain solutions that empowers the entire industry,” Yi said in a statement.

“To expedite widespread adoption, we need to focus our resources on supporting those projects that will push the boundaries of Web3 technology and create products that provide solutions to real-world problems,” she added.

Yi will continue directing key strategic divisions at Binance, including customer support, institutional business, marketing, Binance P2P, and Binance Earn, in addition to her new roles in Binance Labs, the firm said.

Yi was a member of the founding team that established Binance in 2017 and has since held the position of CMO for the exchange. She oversaw branding strategy and marketing operations at Yixia Technology, a Chinese mobile video tech firm, where she worked before joining Binance. She participated in the founding of OKCoin, a cryptocurrency exchange, in 2014.

Bill Qian, the previous leader of Binance Labs, was fired two months before Yi’s hiring, and it was later disclosed that he had departed the organization for personal reasons. Nicole Zhang, an executive director, left Binance Labs at the same time after working there for more than two years.

With a total of $7.5 billion in assets, Binance Labs has invested in more than 200 portfolio projects. The company just raised $500 million to support firms that promote the adoption of cryptocurrencies. The fund, which included DST Global Partners and Breyer Capital as investors, was Binance Labs’ first fund with outside capital.

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