Binance named co-founder Yi He head of Binance Labs on August 3, 2022. The role put her in charge of the exchange's venture capital and incubation arm1. Binance Labs managed $7.5 billion across more than 200 portfolio projects at the time. Since its 2018 founding, the unit had posted a 21.0x return on invested capital, Binance's own post said. Forkast News reported that He had co-founded Binance with Changpeng Zhao in 2017. She already served as its chief marketing officer2.
37 executive hires on the record in 2022
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2022: 37
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
| 2026 | 45 |
Trading Venues & Brokerage led executive hires in 2022, with six
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified in 2022, by the sector of the company
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Trading Venues & Brokerage | 6 |
| Capital Markets & Treasury | 4 |
| Bitcoin & Mining | 4 |
| Layer 1s & Infrastructure | 3 |
| Institutional Custody & Asset Management | 3 |
| Stablecoins & Payments | 2 |
| DeFi Protocols | 2 |
| Wallets & Consumer Apps | 2 |
The move
Zhao explained the choice in Binance's announcement. “As part of the founding team, Yi 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,” Zhao said1. He called the timing right too, naming it “the perfect moment for Yi to take on a larger role in Labs”.
Yi He framed her own goal around industry standards. “To expedite widespread adoption, we need to focus our resources on supporting those projects that will push the boundaries of Web 3.0 technology and create products that provide solutions to real-world problems,” He said, as Forkast quoted her2. Binance's own post ran a longer version of the same message. In it, He said her role was "building the standard for the blockchain industry"1.
Binance Labs before and after
The venture unit had closed a $500 million fund in June 2022, before He's appointment, with money from DST Global Partners and Breyer Capital, Binance's post said1. Its track record already included Polygon, FTX, Certik and Dune Analytics, the post listed. Forkast reported that He kept her other posts at the same time. She stayed in charge of customer support, institutional business, marketing, Binance P2P and Earn2.
What came next
The venture arm changed shape and name in January 2025, two and a half years later. Finance Magnates reported on January 23, 2025, that Changpeng Zhao converted Binance Labs into a family office called YZi Labs, managing about $10 billion in crypto-related assets and run by returning executive Ella Zhang3. The outlet reported that YZi Labs would also oversee He's wealth, since she and Zhao have three children together, and that it would expand its focus to artificial intelligence and biotechnology investments beyond crypto.
Sources
- "Co-Founder Yi He To Lead Binance's $7.5B Venture Capital Arm," Binance Blog, August 3, 2022, https://www.binance.com/en/blog/leadership/cofounder-yi-he-to-lead-binances-$75b-venture-capital-arm-7305725005116378288
- Timmy Shen, "Binance cofounder Yi He to head US$7.5B VC arm Binance Labs," Forkast News, August 4, 2022, https://forkast.news/binance-cofounder-yi-he-vc-arm-binance-labs/
- Tareq Sikder, "Zhao Converts Binance Labs into $10 Billion Family Office YZi Labs," Finance Magnates, January 23, 2025, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiqwFBVV95cUxPdlNYRlljLXZZd3prSVRwTXdQY1pqTHlOTkU0YzFyVW03MVdZaUZSekZzeHZXNzZ2NFhJZnNUcWF2ZGVIYll0ekV4VWxTV1VWRWl2cG1XWFVlMmh3a2ZZX2RiR0Y5RGhMX3pjb1F5cnZLOEVBR04xejB1MnZQclVpS0N0Q1d6cE82VGFxUklwbmhjWjVBUjdZOFM2bXpWd0pId2twWV9sbGNtMHM?oc=5