Sinovation brings in $674m of new funds

Kai-Fu Lee, founder of Sinovation Ventures, formerly known as Innovation Works. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Sinovation Ventures, the venture capital firm founded by former Google Inc executive Kai-Fu Lee, has raised more than $674 million for two new funds that will seek out investments in China and the United States.

The firm, formerly known as Innovation Works, recently closed its second yuan-denominated fund and its third US-dollar fund, taking the total amount under management to more than $1.2 billion.

The seven-year-old investment outfit now plans to add to a portfolio of almost 300 startups that include app store Wandoujia and Meitu, a developer of selfie apps that's close to listing in Hong Kong.

"The new dual-currency funds will strengthen our investment capacity," Lee said in a statement. "Sinovation Ventures has investment teams both in China and in the US, that could grasp pivotal investment opportunities in the two countries."

Lee's firm operates in a manner similar to Y Combinator Inc, the US startup incubator.

Chinese-based venture capital firms raised just $400 million in the second quarter, the lowest figure in almost three years, according to London consultancy Preqin Ltd.

Bloomberg