YZi Labs Announces $1B Fund to Accelerate DeFi, AI, and RWA Projects on BNB Chain

In a move to reshape the ecosystem, YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) has announced a $1 billion investment fund to accelerate growth across decentralized finance (DeFi), artificial intelligence (AI), and real-world asset (RWA) projects. 

As announced on Tuesday by , the initiative represents the company’s commitment to advancing blockchain innovation at a time when the Web3 space is rapidly growing and Binance Coin (BNB) is at its center. 

BNB Chain’s “Builder Era” Gains Momentum

According to , Head of YZi Labs, the $1B fund will support ahead-stage builders and established teams developing decentralized answers that bridge blockchain with tangible use cases in finance, data intelligence, and asset tokenization. The program will also provide technical mentorship, liquidity support, and global marketing resources to assist developers scale quicker within the BNB ecosystem.

Notably, the fund comes at a pivotal time for BNB Chain, which has viewn a surge in developer activity and total value locked (TVL) amid renewed investor confidence in the Web3 infrastructure. shows the BNB TVL has grown more than 40% year-to-date, driven by liquidity inflows into DeFi protocols and tokenized asset projects leveraging the chain’s scalability and low transaction costs.

The announcement also aligns with BNB’s recent price rally, which saw the surge past $1,300 to reach a new all-time high. Market analysts believe that the rise reflects a favorable market sentiment, especially in the BNB Chain’s expanding real-world integrations, including AI-driven DeFi and tokenized asset markets.

YZi Labs’ strategic focus mirrors this trend. By combining AI analytics, DeFi infrastructure, and RWA tokenization, the company aims to spearhead a new wave of “utility-first” crypto applications that support longevity and continuous demand. These include projects tokenizing real estate, commodities, and data streams, which have to unlock trillions in future on-chain value.

YZi Labs and BNB Champion A Strategic Bet on On-Chain Utility

YZi Labs’ billion-dollar fund signals more than just ecosystem growth across builders and traders — it also highlights the global drive around DeFi and AI. Across Asia and Europe, blockchain-AI hybrids are gaining traction as developers explore predictive trading, autonomous lending platforms, and tokenized data marketplaces. Similarly, real-world asset (RWA) projects have become one of crypto’s hottest developments. Major DeFi protocols like MakerDAO and Pendle have already integrated tokenized treasuries and yield-bearing assets, while institutions are increasingly experimenting with on-chain representations of traditional securities.

Analysts note that YZi Labs’ initiative could speed up cross-sector innovation within the crypto space, extending it beyond speculation and showcasing its real economic utility. With AI models now leveraging blockchain-based data layers and RWA projects to connect (TradFi) and DeFi, the $1B commitment reflects growing confidence that the next bull cycle will be utility-driven and not hype-fueled — as viewn in the recent BNB’s strong performance.