CZ-Linked Company Considers Launching $10 Billion Fund

Investment firm YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), associated with Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), is considering attracting external investors. This was revealed in an interview with Financial Times by the company’s head, Ella Zhang.

According to her, there is already interest in the fund from investors, but the team is currently focused on building expertise in new areas. “There are always many external investors interested in us, and we will consider the possibility of becoming a fund for external investors over time. It’s just that we’re not ready yet,” Zhang said.

She emphasized that the fund is just beginning to build a team in the fields of artificial intelligence and biotechnology, and only after this will it be possible to move towards working with external investors. “It will be a huge responsibility,” added the company head.

Zhang also noted that managing capital of $10 billion or more in cryptocurrency is an extremely challenging task. According to her, Zhao gave her a direct goal: “Your task is to invest the funds.” However, finding a sufficient number of assets that meet the fund’s requirements is proving difficult.

In 2022, YZi Labs already attracted about $300 million in external capital but then returned some of the funds because “the funds were already too large.” The FT publication specifies that attracting American investors will inevitably draw the interest of US regulators.

Currently, the YZi Labs team consists of 12 people and adheres to a strategy of long-term and cautious investments.