VANA's Crypto-AI Surge: YZi Labs' First AI Investment

VANA, a pioneering crypto-AI startup, has seen a significant surge in its token price, with a 35% increase during the early hours of the Asian session on Tuesday. The company's decentralized Layer-1 (L1) blockchain is designed to give users control over their data.

The price surge comes in response to reports that YZi Labs, formerly known as Binance Labs, has invested in the platform. YZi Labs' decision to invest in VANA marks its first AI investment since rebranding, reflecting its commitment to pushing the boundaries of transformative innovation. According to YZi Labs, the investment is the first step in unlocking AI's next frontier.

VANA confirmed the investment in a post on X (Twitter), indicating that Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) will advise the pioneering crypto-AI startup. The investment structure and valuation after the round remain undisclosed, but VANA founder Anna Kazlauskas confirmed that YZi Labs was the sole investor in the round completed in January.

Before this funding round, VANA had raised $25 million from leading funds such as Paradigm, Coinbase Ventures, and Polychain Capital. With the new funding from YZi Labs, VANA aims to expand the DataDAO ecosystem by launching Data Tokens for over 16 DataDAOs and attracting more data contributors. The company also plans to support multiple new DataDAOs and broaden the application of data financialization.

The backing of YZi Labs and CZ could make VANA a notable player in the AI and blockchain spaces, as data ownership becomes an increasingly central issue in the tech industry. Binance Labs' rebranding to YZi Labs made it an independent entity, enabling CZ to participate actively in its operations while sidestepping his lifetime ban from working at Binance.