Binance Labs namedrops CZ in a thread announcing rebrand and investment plans in 2025

Binance Labs announced that it will change its name, as well as expand its investment scope to include secondary market deals, OTC, and other new projects. But there is also mention of former Binance CEO CZ and his plans to ‘participate in projects on a personal level’.

In a recent post on the last day of 2024, Binance Labs announced that it will soon operate under a different name and plans to invest in more projects in 2025, specifically naming crypto, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology as its main focus areas.

Binance Labs will also expand its investment scope to include other transactions beyond primary market deals, such as liquidity in secondary markets and over-the-counter transactions.

However, Binance’s venture capital arm (BNB) expects “underperforming” sectors in 2024, such as gaming, ToM technology, and privacy solutions, to make a comeback in 2025, moving to more advanced stages compared to before. year.

Additionally, Binance Labs predicts that emerging sectors such as decentralized science, real-world assets, stablecoins, and AI brokers will continue to perform well in 2025, as these sectors are already poised to evolve much more than they are currently.

At Binance Labs (soon to be rebranded), we focus on fundamentals, aiming for long-term impact. In 2025 and beyond, we will continue to provide evergreen support to founders who share our vision of building for the long term.

As we wrap up 2024, let’s take a look…

— Binance Labs Fund (@BinanceLabs) December 31, 2024

In the thread, Binance Labs mentions the “relaunch” of former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and his plans to invest in industry projects on a personal level.

“With @CZ_Binance now back in operation and spending much of his time investing in the industry, he is eager to connect with both existing and new founders and participate in projects on a personal level,” Binance Labs wrote.

Although not confirmed by Binance Labs, many users took this as a sign that CZ could return to the exchange in a less formal environment. However, it is possible that the exchange could strengthen its chances of leveling up in 2025 by hinting at CZ’s involvement in emerging sectors of the crypto industry such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

In his first public interview outside of prison, CZ said he is interested in mentoring new entrepreneurs in the crypto space and wants to focus on his two main ventures: Giggle Academy and investments in blockchain, artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

Zhao has repeatedly reiterated that he has no intention of returning to Binance or leading any projects.

In 2024 alone, Binance Labs invested in a total of 46 projects, 14 of which were built on the BNB Chain and from incubation programs. The VC arm stated that 20% of its investments come from BNB-based projects. The other 32 projects consist of direct investments.

Of the 46 projects invested by Binance Labs, 10 are DeFi, 7 are artificial intelligence, 7 are Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem, 4 are repurchase, 3 are gaming industry, 2 are ZK technology, 2 are RWA. It is located in. and 2 more in consumer applications.