MetaLend

MetaLend operates as a decentralized finance (DeFi) automation platform, enabling users to optimize the yield on their crypto assets without relinquishing custody. Founded in December 2021 by former Bird executive Sudjeev Singh and former Amazon executive Nikhil Bhardwaj, the Santa Monica-based company aims to provide sophisticated financial tooling for the digital economy. In April 2022, MetaLend secured $5 million in a seed funding round led by Pantera Capital, with participation from notable investors like Sky Mavis and Collab+Currency.

The company's core offering has evolved since its inception. Initially, MetaLend focused on the GameFi sector, allowing players to use their in-game Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as collateral for loans in Ether (ETH). This model allowed NFT owners, particularly within the Axie Infinity ecosystem, to gain liquidity for their digital assets—borrowing up to 30% of the NFT's appraised value—while still being able to use them for in-game activities. The business model generated revenue from the interest paid by borrowers, which provided returns for liquidity providers.

More recently, MetaLend has expanded its services to become a broader DeFi automation and portfolio management tool. The platform's flagship product, AI Investor, functions as a non-custodial automation engine that rebalances users' funds across the highest-yielding DeFi pools on various chains like Ethereum, Polygon, and Base. This addresses the complexity and high transaction costs associated with manually chasing the best annual percentage yields (APYs). The platform supports multi-wallet tracking (up to 30 wallets) and management across multiple chains, allowing users to trade, lend, and borrow from a unified interface. MetaLend's revenue structure includes a minimal rebalancing fee, charged only when the system profitably moves funds to a higher-yield pool. The platform also offers a Stablecoin Savings API, enabling other platforms to integrate high-yield savings accounts backed by DeFi yields.

Keywords: DeFi automation, yield optimization, non-custodial lending, crypto loans, NFT collateral, GameFi, play-to-earn, stablecoin savings, portfolio management, cross-chain DeFi, liquidity pools, Sudjeev Singh, Nikhil Bhardwaj, Pantera Capital, Axie Infinity, crypto asset management, decentralized finance, blockchain finance, automated rebalancing, digital asset loans