Sinovation Ventures

Sinovation Ventures (Chinese: 创新工场; pinyin: Chuàngxīn Gōngchǎng) is a Beijing-based venture capital firm founded in 2009.[2] The firm focuses on investing in startups that use artificial intelligence technology.[3] It was one of the first Chinese venture capital firms to establish a presence in the United States.[2]

Sinovation Ventures
Native name
创新工场
FormerlyInnovation Works
TypePrivate
IndustryVenture Capital
Founded7 September 2009 (2009-09-07)
FoundersKai-Fu Lee
Hua Wang
HeadquartersBeijing, China
ProductsInvestments
AUMUS$3 billion (2022)
Websitesinovationventures.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Background

Kai-Fu Lee was President of Google China from July 2005 to September 4, 2009.[2][4][5][6] A few days after resigning from his post, on September 7, 2009, he announced he would be starting a $115m venture capital fund called "Innovation Works".[2][5][6][7] His colleague, Hua Wang who was previously Head of Business Development in Google China joined him as a co-founder.[8]

In 2013, a office was opened in Silicon Valley to invest in US startups.[9][10]

In 2016, the firm rebranded from "Innovation Works" to "Sinovation Ventures".[7]

In 2019, the firm closed its Silicon Valley office citing the China–United States trade war making it difficult to get into US deals.[9][10]

Funds
Fund[11] Vintage Year Committed Capital ($m)
Sinovation Fund I 2011 USD 180
Sinovation Fund II 2012 USD 275
RMB Fund I 2012 USD 48.5
Sinovation Fund III 2016 USD 207
RMB Fund II 2016 USD 380
Sinovation Fund IV 2018 USD 500
Artificial intelligence fund[12] 2018 USD 391
RMB Fund III[13] 2019 USD 361
Sinovation Fund V[14] 2022 USD 203

Notable Investments

References
  1. "Sinovation Ventures". Sinovation Ventures.
  2. "Chinese economy resilient thanks to its diversity, says top tech venture capitalist". South China Morning Post. 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  3. Yuan, Li (24 August 2016). "China Gears Up in Artificial-Intelligence Race". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  4. Sandoval, Greg. "Microsoft settles with Google over executive hire". CNET. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  5. "Google China Head Kai-Fu Lee Leaves to Start New Venture - BusinessWeek". 2009-09-08. Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  6. "Dr. Kai-Fu Lee Leaves Google, Starts Innovation Works | Reuters". Reuters. 2009-09-10. Archived from the original on 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  7. Yuan, Li (12 September 2016). "Sinovation Ventures Raises $675 Million in Fresh Capital". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  8. "Hua Wang, Sinovation Ventures: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  9. Levy, Ari (14 May 2019). "Google's former China head Kai-Fu Lee retreats from US investing amid trade dispute". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  10. Kaye, Kate (2022-11-07). "Kai-Fu Lee tried to teach the US about Chinese AI and got a rivalry". Protocol. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  11. "Sinovation Ventures | Palico". www.palico.com. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  12. Wu, Yimian (2018-05-25). "Sinovation Ventures Establishes $391M AI Fund In Guangzhou". China Money Network. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  13. Wang, Eudora (2019-06-05). "Former Google China Head-Led Sinovation Ventures Closes Third RMB Fund At $361M". China Money Network. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  14. "Sinovation Ventures raises $203m so far for fifth flagship venture fund". DealStreetAsia. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
  15. Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel. "The Guy Who Ran Microsoft And Google In China Clones US Startups". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-12-18.
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