Yesterday, Baidu announced the establishment of “Baidu Capital†with a fund size of 20 billion yuan. The investment scope mainly covers the mid-to-late stage projects in the pan-Internet field. Li Yanhong personally served as chairman of Baidu Capital and chairman of the Investment Committee.
It is reported that Baidu Capital's funding sources are relatively diversified, including several large insurance funds, securities companies, and a number of professional institutions' parent funds. According to Baidu Capital's independent market-oriented fund, the average investment amount for each project will be roughly in the range of 50 million US dollars to 100 million US dollars. At the same time, two or three management partners will be set up. Baidu Capital will recruit partners from the investment circle.
Baidu also revealed that several investment institutions with government background are interested in participating in the investment, and they are currently negotiating with Baidu.
Recently, Baidu began to focus on investment in addition to artificial intelligence. On September 13th, Baidu announced the establishment of an independent venture capital company (referred to as Baidu Venture Capital, Baidu venture). Li Yanhong personally assumed the position of Chairman of the Board and participated in assessment and judgment of important projects. The positioning of Baidu Ventures focuses on artificial intelligence, and AR/VR and other innovative projects, focusing on early-stage projects. The first phase of the fund has reached 200 million U.S. dollars.
In comparison, Baidu Venture Capital is closer to venture capital, and the newly established Baidu Capital is similar to PE's mature fund. Judging from Baidu's current actions, Baidu may continue to improve the structure and field of foreign investment.
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