Sinovation Ventures
China-based venture capital firm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| |
Native name | 创新工场 |
|---|---|
| Formerly | Innovation Works |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Venture Capital |
| Founded | 7 September 2009 |
| Founders | Kai-Fu Lee Hua Wang |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
Key people | Kai-Fu Lee (CEO) |
| Products | Investments |
| AUM | US$3 billion (2022) |
| Website | sinovationventures |
| Footnotes [1] | |
Background
Kai-Fu Lee was President of Google China from July 2005 to 4 September 2009.[2][4][5][6] A few days after resigning from his post, on 7 September 2009, he announced he would be starting a $115m venture capital fund called "Innovation Works".[2][5][6][7] His colleague, Hua Wang, who was previously Head of Business Development in Google China joined him as a co-founder.[8]
In 2013, an office was opened in Silicon Valley to invest in US startups.[9][10]
In 2016, the firm rebranded from "Innovation Works" to "Sinovation Ventures".[7]
In 2019, the firm closed its Silicon Valley office citing the China–United States trade war making it difficult to get into US deals.[9][10]
Funds
| Fund[11] | Vintage Year | Committed Capital ($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 |