TL;DR
- Binance’s YZi Labs has invested in USD.AI, a protocol providing hardware-backed stablecoin financing for AI infrastructure.
- The funding aims to accelerate USD.AI’s growth, expanding developer onboarding and scaling AutoVaults.
- By collateralizing loans with AI hardware, USD.AI enables rapid, secure financing, positioning itself as a bridge between DeFi and the surging global demand for AI computing power.
Binance’s venture division, YZi Labs, has made a strategic investment in USD.AI, a protocol offering stablecoin-backed loans for AI hardware. This step reinforces Binance’s commitment to advancing financial solutions that merge decentralized finance with real-world computing infrastructure. The partnership also signals growing interest from leading crypto funds in projects that bring measurable utility to blockchain-based financing, reflecting a long-term vision for AI and DeFi integration.
Stablecoin Financing For AI Infrastructure
USD.AI has developed a synthetic stablecoin model that directly ties yield to global computing demand. Its lending system uses physical AI hardware as collateral, allowing developers to bypass traditional financing delays. Loans can close in days instead of months, giving both borrowers and lenders a faster and secure experience. The protocol has already surpassed $62 million in total value locked (TVL) and launched AutoVaults with partners like K3 Capital, Concrete, Euler, and Pendle, showing strong traction in the market. Moreover, the team continues exploring additional DeFi products to attract new liquidity providers and enhance yield opportunities, aiming for sustainable long-term growth.
DeFi And Real-World Asset Integration
With YZi Labs’ support, USD.AI plans to scale developer onboarding and expand infrastructure, aiming to create a DeFi-native market for hardware financing. Dana Hou, investment partner at YZi Labs, highlighted how USD.AI aligns incentives across lenders, borrowers, and infrastructure providers, describing the project as a new layer where decentralized finance supports the computing economy. This investment also demonstrates confidence in the protocol’s ability to bridge financial systems with technological innovation, offering builders faster access to essential resources while reducing reliance on conventional credit.
The investment underscores a growing trend in crypto: blending DeFi mechanisms with tangible industry needs. By collateralizing loans with real AI hardware, USD.AI enables rapid scaling and reduces friction in a capital-intensive environment, unlike traditional financing, which can take 60-90 days to process.
David Choi, co-founder of USD.AI, emphasized that this model allows builders without Wall Street access to leverage their machines as financial assets.
“We’re creating a dollar that scales for operators outside traditional finance,” he said.
With Binance’s backing, USD.AI gains both capital and credibility, positioning itself as a frontrunner in the evolving intersection of AI and decentralized finance.