Investing in 17 new projects in one go, which hardcore sectors did CZ bet on?

Original Article Title: Meet the EASY Residency Season 2 Cohort

Original Source: YZi labs

Original Translation: Ethan, Odaily Planet Daily

On December 3rd, YZi Labs officially announced the full list of participants for Season 2 of the EASY Residency, with 17 shortlisted teams set to make their debut at the Demo Day of Binance Blockchain Week.

It is worth noting that this season's selected projects, while continuing the hardcore tech DNA of the first season in AI and Biotech, have increased the narrative diversity. The list includes not only Bitcoin liquidity protocols, the Blast ecosystem prediction market, and other Web3 native assets, but also cutting-edge hard technologies in space intelligence, gene therapy, and more.

42.space: Trade Real-World Events Like Memecoins

Founding Team:

Leo Zhang (Founder): Former Head of Cryptocurrency Research at a New York hedge fund, previously worked at KKR and Morgan Stanley's Equity Derivatives Division, Stanford University Math Bachelor's.

Steve Kim (CTO): Founding engineer at multiple startups (later acquired by Walmart/Discord), Stanford University Computer Science Bachelor's.

Aleksi Ollikainen-Read (Strategy/Operations/Legal Advisor): Former Consensys SMG Director of Strategy and Operations, taught law at Oxford University, researcher at Harvard University/Max Planck Institute, qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales (E&W) in 2018.

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

42.space is an asset issuance protocol that significantly expands the boundaries of prediction markets. By leveraging bonding curves to structure event outcomes into a Token Launchpad, 42.space allows users to create and trade assets pegged to real-world events. Trading like liquidity tokens; settling like prediction markets, this innovative mechanism is driven by a strong team of Stanford and Harvard alumni as well as Wall Street veterans, blending top-tier engineering expertise with advanced financial strategies. Through collaboration with the BNB Chain, 42.space is introducing this novel event-based asset to a vast user base, further expanding the landscape of DeFi.

4D Labs: Data Collection, Model Development, and Application of Spatial Intelligence Big Models

Founding Team:

Bruce Bai (CEO): Ph.D. from Zhejiang University; Serial Entrepreneur; Previously founded two computer vision startups.

Ian Y. Xu (Co-founder): Postdoc from the University of Michigan; Ph.D. from the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Formerly worked at Meta Reality Labs and SenseTime.

Xin Zhou (Co-founder): Chief AI Architect at Baidu USA; Ph.D. from the University of Michigan; Over 10 years of experience leading AI/generative AI systems.

Haoming (Co-founder): Postdoc at Peking University; Ph.D. from Zhejiang University; Previously worked at Baidu; Published over 10 top AI papers; Serial Entrepreneur (co-founded Deep Pink Elephant, xPerception - acquired by Baidu).

YZi Labs' Investment Thesis:

4D Labs sits at the intersection of AI, 3D technology, and Web3, aiming to address a foundational bottleneck of the spatial computing era: how to obtain scalable, verifiable, and high-quality 3D data. Leveraging its spatial big models and 3D data generation and acquisition pipeline, combined with a tokenized data provenance framework, 4D Labs has emerged as an early pioneer in the 3D data infrastructure space. With the rapid advancement of digital twinning and Embodied AI, ownership-based 3D data networks are becoming crucial, making 4D Labs a timely and strategically significant investment in the foundational layer of the next computing paradigm.

AllScale: Lightweight Self-Hosted Next-Generation Bank for Cross-Border Business Operations

Founding Team:

Shawn Pang (CEO) - Former TikTok & Capital One Payment Product Manager; Serial Entrepreneur; Previously led the listing business at KuCoin. Leo Wang (COO) - Former Amazon, IBM, and DBS Bank employee; FinTech and infrastructure builder.

Alisha Li (CMO) - Former Queen Bee Capital Partner, former HP, Dell, Sun Sales Director.

Khalil Lin (Compliance Lead) – Licensed New York Attorney; previously worked at Kraken, The Block.

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

AllScale is building a self-custodial stablecoin neobank that simplifies enterprise payments, payroll, and invoicing in a compliant and intuitive manner. Our investment is based on early indicators of product-market fit, supported by natural growth momentum and robust retention metrics. AllScale combines the speed and transparency of stablecoins with a user experience that perfectly aligns with modern business operations and compliance requirements, positioning itself favorably to capture market share.

Advent: AI-Driven Precision Gene Therapy Platform

Founder Team:

Bonnie Zhu: Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Bioengineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST); Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Kai Liu: Professor at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; globally recognized leader in the field of neuroscience.

Yuan Yao: Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Stanford University; currently Director of Sales and Marketing for the BD Medical Infusion and Hemodialysis division in the United States.

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

Advent operates at the forefront of cell and gene therapy delivery, utilizing a proprietary viral protein dataset and a specially designed AI-driven platform to shorten the discovery time of adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids from months to weeks. Its high-throughput data, scalable differentiated capsid IP pipeline, and synthetically superior capsids outperforming natural serotypes have built a formidable technological moat in this rapidly expanding market. Advent boasts a strong team and a clear technological differentiator, presenting a timely investment entry point aligned with key precedents in the cell and gene therapy (CGT) market.

AgriDynamics: Fruit Picking Robot Addressing Farm Labor Crisis

Founder Team:

Dr. Zhaojian Li (CTO): Associate Professor at Michigan State University, overseeing the commercialization efforts of a patented modular apple-picking robot developed through funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Kyle Lammers (CEO): Engaged in apple picking robot research for six years, received the Michigan AgBio Innovation Award, the ASABE Best Student Presentation Award, and the ASABE Intelligent Traffic Systems Community Best Paper Award.

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

The company has addressed one of the most pressing cost and labor challenges in American specialty agriculture—apple picking—through a patented and field-validated robotic platform recognized by a major growers' association. In the apple picking sector, labor costs represent around 70% of production costs. Its modular, commercializable system and defensive intellectual property give it a clear first-mover advantage in this multibillion-dollar value space. With an expandable roadmap to other high-value crops and recurring service or software revenue, the company aims to become the core automation infrastructure for specialty agriculture.

Bento.fun: Social Layer for Market Prediction

Founder Team:

Abhitej Singh (CEO): Former Growth Lead at Persistence/pSTAKE; Co-founder of Cosmos India; Founder of Filament (1 billion USD in transactions, 1.15 million USD in funding).

Pratyaksh Inani (CPO): Quantitative trader since age 13; former Finance/Product Lead at Persistence; Co-founder of Filament.

Rajeeb Kumar (Engineer): Former Nethermind staff, IIT graduate, with 6 years of DeFi/smart contract engineering experience, 10-time hackathon champion.

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

Bento can transform daily fan debates on Telegram, Twitter, and WhatsApp into $1 to $10 simple and fast micro-duels, opening up space for a large audience of casual fans with significant trading volume potential. The founders have deep domain expertise and aim to target high-heat, high-circulation global fan circles such as cricket and Formula 1. As a native prediction market base component on BNB Chain, Bento aligns directly with our ecosystem strategy and drives broader on-chain participation through low-friction social betting.

Frontrun: A Professional Trader Wallet Designed for Fast Discovery, Due Diligence, and Execution

Founder Team:

Chris (Founder & CEO): Former Robinhood Crypto employee (responsible for building the deposits & withdrawals feature); Lead engineer at Sui (led an 8-person team to build a browser, SDK, RPC, and a wallet with over 1 million users).

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

Frontrun is a trader-centric wallet designed for swift asset discovery, rapid due diligence, and seamless trade execution, directly addressing a key pain point for high-frequency traders. Early organic growth and strong retention data validate the alignment of this product with a highly attractive initial entry point: the high-value trader segment within a multi-billion dollar TAM (Solana alone sees over $1 billion in annual fees, a testament to this data). Its multi-chain roadmap and synergy with the BNB Chain DeFi ecosystem position Frontrun as a strategically significant complement to the broader trading infrastructure stack.

Help.fun: An Encrypted Launchpad for Non-Profit Tokens

Founder Team:

Helena Everley: Co-Founder, Stanford University undergraduate.

Arash Attar: Co-Founder & CTO, previously developed one of the fastest-moving trading apps for memecoins and a high-performance sneaker-copping bot.

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

Help.fun aims to construct a crypto-native fundraising channel allowing nonprofits and startups to issue charity tokens through a fair, anti-bot distribution method, addressing the longstanding trust issue in on-chain fundraising. Its anti-front-running mechanism (including bait, puzzle, and Gas trap) ensures fairness in participation, offering a credible alternative to the predatory Memecoin launches. With outstanding early execution and a strong alignment with BNB Chain culture and liquidity, Help.fun is poised to become a scalable on-chain fundraising conduit for mission-driven organizations.

Hertzflow: Permissionless Leveraged Market for Any Asset

Founder Team:

Vincent Shang: Co-Founder; with over 10 years of experience in the crypto field, he is also an influential Chinese KOL.

Hero: Co-Founder and Product Lead; formerly at Coinbase, responsible for CDP and Prime MPC wallet business.

Soren: CTO; former Mantle core developer (early engineering team member, involved in building from scratch).

YZi Labs' Investment Thesis:

Hertzflow aims to bridge the gap between the traditional retail derivatives market with a daily trading volume of up to $4.5 trillion and the on-chain economy. Led by a team with a deep professional background in traditional derivatives, the protocol is specifically designed to onboard a large and untapped group of non-crypto-native traders. Hertzflow has a mature product running in the BNB Chain ecosystem, combining the efficiency of permissionless on-chain settlement with a user experience tailored for the globally expansive trading market.

Manifolds: AI-Driven 3D Spatially Controllable Video Generation Platform

Founder Team:

Qingyuan Shan (CEO): Former Senior VP of Corporate Business at Megvii Technology; Former Head of Strategy at Horizon Robotics; B.S. in Mathematics from the University at Buffalo; M.S. in Applied Analytics from Columbia University.

Yudong Tao (CTO): Former Meta Research Data Scientist; B.S. in Electronic Engineering from Fudan University; Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Miami.

Naiyuan Huang (COO): Former Sales and Marketing Director at Megvii Technology (Series A); Alumnus of China Europe International Business School; Instrumental in driving the growth of China's second-largest AI talent community.

YZi Labs' Investment Thesis:

Manifolds is a strategic bet on AI video technology that is controllable and has 3D perception capabilities, seeing it as an enabling layer for next-generation content creation and Embodied AI applications. Its technological differentiators—such as 3D space generation, physical perception simulation, hybrid rendering, and fine-grained object/camera control—position it favorably in high-growth verticals like e-commerce visualization and real-world integrated AI systems. Its strong early business momentum (with an annualized revenue of $150,000, acquiring 60 paying enterprise customers without paid marketing) validates its clear product maturity, scalable potential, and excellent founder-market fit.

MeleeMon: An Esports Mobile Game Based on Stablecoin Betting

Founder Team:

Alex (CEO): A Pokémon esports player ranked in the global top 500 for four consecutive years; demonstrates outstanding founder-market fit.

Jasper (CTO): Possesses over 6 years of Unity and React development experience.

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

MeleeMon is a skill-based mobile monster battle game. The team exhibits exceptional founder-market fit, with YC-backed game development experience (prior company Gamebytes had over 5 million users) and deep roots in the Pokémon esports domain, along with a clear understanding of blockchain-enabled gaming economies. The project targets the vast and validated Web2 gaming market while introducing a new on-chain competitive gaming mechanic. Given YZi Labs' focus on high-quality, engaging gameplay experiences on the BNB Chain, MeleeMon demonstrates strong strategic alignment and reliable execution.

Neomera BioLab: A Non-Opioid Drug Development Platform for Chronic Pain and Mainstream Chronic Conditions

Founder Team:

Rebecca Miao (CEO): With over 15 years of drug development experience; former Chief Scientific Officer at AKSO Bio, leading multiple FDA-approved INDs, securing a $75 million pharma partnership, holding 200+ patents, and a Stanford postdoc.

Jimmy Xu (CTO): Johns Hopkins University alum; Stanford Bioengineering Ph.D. and postdoc; expert in drug screening optimization and biomedical AI.

Yi Lu (CFO): A serial entrepreneur turned investor, brought a novel pain therapy from concept to clinical trials, receiving coverage in top international journals and awards; Stanford MBA, former roles at Bain Capital and Madrone Capital Partners.

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

Neomera is dedicated to addressing the urgent need for non-addictive therapy for over 1 billion chronic pain patients worldwide. Its "Biology-First, AI-Accelerated" discovery platform has created a unique advantage: the ability to generate highly relevant proprietary internal data and successfully tackle indications that traditional methods have struggled with. This tightly integrated wet lab and machine learning loop fundamentally compresses the experimental timeline by up to 80%, thus establishing a scalable and differentiated engine for rapid drug development for refractory chronic diseases.

Sats Terminal: Native Bitcoin Liquidity Protocol

Founder Team:

Stan Havryliuk (CEO): Former senior leader at Bitcoin.com, ZondaCrypto, and Ambisafe; led multiple teams from 5 to 50 people.

Rishabh Java (CTO): Serial fintech entrepreneur with exit experiences; developed multiple Bitcoin products; former CTO of Ordinals Council, ToshiPad, and Crackedevs.

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

Sats Terminal is built on BTC and EVM chains (mainly BNB and Base), positioned in a vast and expanding market driven by BTC collateralized lending, yields, and trading demand. They initially entered the market with a swap aggregation model, quickly accumulating a strong B2B user base (capturing 75% of Runes trading volume; having over 30 integrated projects). They are currently expanding towards the BTC lending and yield markets, showing strong early momentum. Their early institutional support includes a $1.7 million Pre-seed round led by Coinbase Ventures and Draper Associates.

Saturn Labs: Bitcoin Credit-backed 10%+ Yield Platform

Founder Team:

Kevin Li (Co-Founder & CEO): ParaFi co-founder, researcher; former Head of DAT at Artemis

Sebastian Melendez (Co-founder & CTO): Co-founder, former Artemis stablecoin lead.

Ellis Osborn (Co-founder & COO): Penn Blockchain President; former M31 Capital investor.

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

The reason why YZi Labs supports Saturn is because the team is building a yield-bearing stablecoin with over 10% APY, backed by MicroStrategy's STRC (a transparent, institutionally credible BTC credit instrument). Saturn sits at the intersection of the fast-growing sectors of stablecoins, DATs, and RWAs in the crypto space. The demand for a transparent, scalable, real-yield reserve is increasing, and the founding team has deep expertise in DATs, DeFi, and stablecoin architecture, positioning Saturn to be a core layer of the on-chain economy.

Predict.fun: Enhancing liquidity through DeFi to tackle the capital-inefficient prediction market

Founders:

Ding: Former consulting/investment banking professional; Joined Binance in 2017 and built the Research & Listing team; Led Binance Launchpad (2019); PancakeSwap founder (2020); Predict.fun co-founder (2024).

YZi Labs Investment Thesis:

Predict.fun empowers a new breed of mainstream prediction markets by transforming event trading into a revenue-generating, leverageable, and self-custodial financial primitive, allowing users to participate in predictions while fully embracing DeFi services. By integrating DeFi-native yield, seamless on-chain user experience (such as AA account abstraction, gasless transactions), and composability, the protocol effectively lowers user barriers and positions the prediction market as an easily accessible, practically-driven product for a broader non-crypto-native audience.

Trellis Robotics: Unlocking AI Soft Robotics platform for hard-to-reach industrial assets

Founder Team:

Yimeng Qin (CEO): Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University; Chief Developer of Core Trellis Robotics Technology (expected to graduate in March 2026).

Elvy Yao (COO): Master's candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University (expected to graduate in December 2025); Key contributor to the Trellis platform's sensor housing, steering, and mechatronics integration.

William Heap (CTO): Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University (to transition to full-time role post-2028); Engaged in vine robot system research at UC Santa Barbara and Stanford University since 2019.

YZi Labs' Investment Thesis:

Trellis Robotics addresses a high-cost and hazardous challenge in industrial operations: inspection of confined-space infrastructure. Its unique vine robot platform's precision, reach, and safety surpass human inspectors and existing tools, creating a clear competitive edge in a large-scale and underserved market. Early validation through pilot projects with Dow Chemical and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as well as interest from BASF, Bayer, and Chevron, demonstrates the technology's readiness to meet market demand and its reliable path to achieving enterprise-scale deployment.

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