YZi Labs’ EASY Residency Expands to a Year-Round Program, with Season 3 Demo Day at TOKEN2049 Dubai (April 2026)
Main takeaways:
- EASY Residency has shifted to a year-round, rolling-entry model, so founders can apply and interview anytime.
- The program establishes long-term hubs in New York and SF Bay Area, where YZi Labs investors are present year-round.
- EASY Residency will host three global Demo Days in 2026 — April (at TOKEN2049 Dubai), August, and December — connecting founders with top global investors worldwide.
- Builders can apply to EASY Residency through: wkf.ms/3IA5iBk
GM all. 2026 is moving at a new speed. To match this cycle, YZi Labs is evolving EASY Residency from a single, fixed cohort into a year-round, always-on engine.
👇 Here's how we’re rewriting Season 3 to make the momentum permanent.
What We’re Looking For in Season 3
In Season 3, we continue to look for founders building in Web3, AI, and biotech, with an emphasis on, but not limited to:
Web3
- Exchange-grade onchain markets (CLOBs, next-gen AMMs, perps)
- Stablecoin, payments, and DeFi-native banking infra
- Tokenized RWAs and prediction markets
- Financialized social and consumer crypto
- Decentralized compute, DePIN, and AI data networks
- Privacy-preserving and chain-abstracted infra
- New Oracles and private market primitives (e.g., dark pools)
AI
- Vertical AI applications (healthcare, finance, legal, customer support)
- New frontiers in foundation models (world models, physical models, new LLM architectures)
- Enterprise AI agents & workflow automation
- Post-training, evaluation, and alignment infrastructure
- Robotics foundations: perception, planning, manipulation, sim-to-real
- Real-world robotics scaling: deployment, fleet ops, safety, unit economics (logistics, manufacturing, agriculture)
Biotech
(Bio + AI)
- AI for Diagnostics & Therapies
- AI for Science
- AI for Drug Discovery
- Healthcare IT & Infrastructure
(Bio + Web3)
- Crypto Life Insurance & Will
- Decentralized Science (DeSci)
- Blockchain for Health Data
- Web3 in Clinical Trials & Supply Chains
(See our past incubatees list: Season 1 | Season 2 )
Permanent Hubs in New York and San Francisco
Building is a continuous loop, and founders’ support system should be too. While Seasons 1 and 2 operated through temporary hubs, Season 3 introduces long-term builder hubs in:
- New York
- San Francisco Bay Area
These cities sit at the center of Web3, AI, and biotech innovation and are designed for ongoing presence, allowing sustained interaction between founders, operators, and investors.
Founders based in Asia also have the option to spend time at Network School in Forest City – an emerging tech community that offers an immersive environment for community living and focused building.
What Founders Will Get Covered
- Investment
EASY Residency founders may receive up to $500,000, structured as:
a) $150,000 for 5% equity (plus other rights if applicable) in the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE);
b) An additional $350,000 on an uncapped SAFE;
- Infrastructure for Builders
We provide the resources founders need to focus on building:
- Workspace: Fully covered, dedicated office space in our NYC, SF Bay Area, or Forest City hubs
- Living: Stipends or housing credits to subsidize accommodations and ensure a smooth landing wherever you build
- Perks: An exclusive package of partner credits, including Amazon/AWS, Certik, and other essential infrastructure tools
- Hands-on Acceleration
Founders receive hands-on support throughout the building process, including:
- Deep Co-Building: Direct support from YZi Labs across GTM strategy, hiring, and mechanism design
- Mentorship: Weekly workshops and 1:1 sessions with industry leaders and experts like CZ, Yi, and more.
Three Demo Days per Year
For founders, Demo Day is a defining moment to showcase what you’ve built and connect with the investors you want to work with. We treat that moment with care.
Season 3 introduces three global Demo Days each year — in April, August, and December 2026.
The first Demo Day in April will take place during Dubai during TOKEN2049, giving teams immediate exposure to global investors and partners early in their journey. Previous Demo Days were hosted at the NYSE and Binance Blockchain Week, bringing together ~200 active investors for live pitches and direct, informal conversations with founders.
Our goal is simple: to make sure that when you do step up, it actually moves things forward.
What We’re Looking For in Season 3
In Season 3, we continue to look for founders building in Web3, AI, and biotech, with an emphasis on, but not limited to:
Web3
- Exchange-grade onchain markets (CLOBs, next-gen AMMs, perps)
- Stablecoin, payments, and DeFi-native banking infra
- Tokenized RWAs and prediction markets
- Financialized social and consumer crypto
- Decentralized compute, DePIN, and AI data networks
- Privacy-preserving and chain-abstracted infra
AI
- Enterprise AI agents and workflow automation
- Post-training, evaluation, and alignment infra
- Talent-driven AI acquisitions
- Software-first robotics and embodied AI systems
- Robotics deployment in logistics, manufacturing, agriculture
Biotech
- New drug modalities
- Clinically validated diagnostics and medical devices
- Tech-driven, evidence-backed consumer healthcare platforms
We would like to thank our mentors and speakers for supporting our founders throughout the program:
- CZ @cz_binance, Co-founder and former CEO of Binance;
- Yi He @heyibinance, Co-founder & Co-CEO of Binance;
- Vitalik Buterin @VitalikButerin, Co-founder of Ethereum;
- Balaji Srinivasan @balajis, Author of the Network State. Founder of the Network School.
- Ella Zhang @ellazhang516, Head of YZi Labs, founding partner of Binance Labs, two-times founder, and former investor from KPCB
- Alex Odagiu @odagius, Investment Partner of YZi Labs
- Nina Rong @nina_rong, Executive Director of Growth @BNBChain
- Viktor Radchenko @vikmeup, founder and former CEO of TrustWallet
- Leonard @Leonard_Aster, CEO of Aster
- Chef kids @Headchef_pcs, CEO of PancakeSwap
- Wyatt Lonergan @Wyatt_Lonergan, General Partner, Vaneck Ventures;
- Tom Schmidt @tomhschmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly;
- Ronghui Gu @RonghuiGu, Co-founder and CEO of CertiK, Computer Science Professor at Columbia University;
- Sandeep Nailwal @sandeepnailwal, Co-founder of Polygon and core contributor to Sentient;
- Justin Sun @justinsuntron, founder of TRON
- Eric Chen @ericinjective, Co-founder of Injective;
- Harry Halpin @harryhalpin, Co-founder of Nym;
- Michael Ma @MichaelandMa, Founder of District (formerly CreatorDAO) and Founding Partner at L2 Ventures;
- Mengdi Wang @MengdiWang10, Princeton Professor in AIML. Co-Director of Princeton AI^2;
- Teresa Goody Guillén @teresagoody, Partner/Lawyer @BakerHostetler;
- Tim Zheng, Founder & CEO at Apollo.io;
- Erick Zhang @ErickNomad, Managing Partner at Nomad Capital;
- Amanda Cassatt @amandacassatt, Founder & CEO of Serotonin;
- Xin Yan @realyanxin: Founder & CEO, Sign, Tokentable;
- Bolong Li: VP, Head of Global Acquisition, Retention, Growth at Amazon Audible, Adjunct Prof at Columbia Business School.
Season 3 is about building environments that compound.Apply when you’re ready. We’ll meet you in the work.
Apply here 👉 wkf.ms/3IA5iBk
(The application link remains the same as Season 2. If you’ve applied before, you’re already in our system – we’ll be in touch if we decide to move forward.)
About YZi Labs
YZi Labs manages over $10 billion assets globally. Our investment philosophy emphasizes impact first—we believe that meaningful returns will naturally follow. We invest in ventures at every stage, prioritizing those with solid fundamentals in Web3, AI, and healthcare.
YZi Labs’ portfolio covers over 300 projects from over 25 countries across six continents. More than 65 of YZi Labs’ portfolio companies have gone through our incubation programs. For more information, follow YZi Labs on X.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, endorsement, analysis, or recommendations with respect to any financial instruments, investments, or issuers. This article may contain forward-looking statements which are by nature subject to risks and uncertainties. Investment in cryptocurrency and DeFi projects involves substantial risk, including the risk of complete loss. This article does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation, or specific needs of any particular person and each individual is urged to consult their legal and financial advisors before making any investment decisions.