In the latest announcement, Huobi Group said that the company has just launched Huobi DeFi Labs to manage a new investment fund. In the first phase, DeFi Labs will have 4 key members, focusing on research, investment, and incubation for DeFi projects.
Huobi exchange has also recruited Sharlyn Wu, a former banker, to take on the position of investment director and leader of this DeFi fund. Previously, Wu spent three years leading the blockchain investment arm at China Merchant Bank International (CMBI), the overseas branch of one of the largest banks in China.
During Wu’s tenure, CMBI invested in a number of crypto and blockchain companies, including wallet startup Bitpie and public blockchain project Nervos.
As can be seen, Huobi’s DeFI Labs comes at a time when crypto venture capital (VC) funds are increasingly investing in DeFi protocols. Last week, the Pantera fund gradually led an investment group into Injective Protocol, which raised $2.6 million. Meanwhile, Polychain and Three Arrows are backing another DeFi protocol, KeeperDao.