Binance co-founder Yi He to head its $7.5 billion VC arm

• The $7.5 billion venture capital arm of Binance will be headed by Binance co-founder Yi He.
  
• This comes after Bill Qian, the former head of Binance Labs, resigned in June 2022.
  
• Binance Labs intends to support web 3 projects that can withstand the crypto winter.
  

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said that its co-founder Yi He will now head its VC arm Binance Labs. The VC arm that manages assets worth $7.5 billion, was founded in 2018.

“As part of the founding team, Yi has been actively involved in Labs since its inception. This is the perfect moment for her to take on a larger role, as this market presents an unparalleled opportunity to identify those projects with the tenacity to thrive in tough market conditions,” said Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

The appointment comes after Bill Qian, the former head of Binance Labs, resigned in June 2022. Qian was the second top-tier executive to resign from Binance in the last two months. Nicole Zhang, executive director of Binance Labs quit in May 2022. Both Qian and Zhang had joined Binance in March 2020.

Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, is one of the world’s largest crypto VC firms. It has a portfolio of over 200 projects.

The appointment comes amidst a crypto bear market that wiped off over $2 trillion from the crypto industry since January 2021.

“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,” said Yi.

Binance Labs has incubated some of the industry’s most successful projects, including Polygon, FTX, Certik, Nym, and Dune Analytics. According to a company statement, the VC firm has had a 2100% rate of return since its inception.

The VC firm recently closed a $500 million investment fund that includes participation from global institutional investors such as DST Global Partners and Breyer Capital.

“It is a foregone conclusion that Web3 will reach one billion new users in the next five years. However, Web3 will only truly become mainstream when its products weave seamlessly into users’ lives,” added Yi.

Yi will continue leading and supporting the organization’s key business initiatives and units including customer support, institutional business, marketing along with Binance P2P.

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