Co-founder and chief marketing officer Yi He took the reins at cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s $7.5bn Binance Labs subsidiary yesterday in the midst of an increasingly hostile market for its startups.
Binance Labs has operated as the strategic investment and incubator arm of the company since 2018 and its portfolio companies have experienced considerable growth, but He will have to battle against a downward trend in the crypto market.
“Part of the journey of seeing Binance grow, especially through tough market conditions, has been the ability to identify those founders that have the skills and embody the values needed to thrive in an environment where resources are more limited,” He said.
“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.”
Binance Labs incubates startups through its mentor and expert network, in addition to making early-stage investments in the Web3 space, which can also incorporate areas like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or decentralised finance, and funding late-stage companies looking to form partnerships with its parent company.
The unit claims $7.5bn of assets under management across some 200 projects, a figure it says makes it the largest crypto VC in the industry. That figure includes unicorns FTX, Polygon and Dune Analytics, all of which were incubated there.
As head of Binance Labs, He will manage operations and strategy, and says her aim involves building the blockchain industry standard. She also wants to strengthen utility in early blockchain and crypto projects in a bid to push them into the mainstream.
“It is a foregone conclusion that Web3 will reach 1 billion new users in the next five years,” she said. “However, Web3 will only truly become mainstream when its products weave seamlessly into users’ lives.
“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.”
Binance has remained relatively bullish despite a bear market that has seen funding for crypto and NFT-focused companies crash from $11.8bn in the last quarter of 2021 to just $2.2bn in Q2 2022. He is replacing Bill Qian, who stepped down as head of Binance Labs at the start of June.
The company recruited external backers like DST Global and Breyer Capital for a $500m fund closed the same month. However, as Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao acknowledged yesterday, the restrictions in the market will have an impact regardless of Web3’s potential.
“As part of the founding team, He has been actively involved in Labs since its inception and has played a pivotal role in identifying early-stage projects and founders with the vision and drive to disrupt those global institutions that no longer serve society effectively,” he said.
“This is the perfect moment for He to take on a larger role in Labs as this market presents an unparalleled opportunity to identify those projects with the tenacity to thrive in tough market conditions.”
Photo of Yi He courtesy of Binance.
