Baidu announced today the establishment of Baidu Capital, which will have a fund size of RMB 20 billion and will mainly invest in mid-to-late projects in the field of pan-Internet. Baidu CEO Li Yanhong will serve as chairman of Baidu Capital and chairman of the Investment Committee.
Baidu said that Baidu Capital will be a fund that operates according to an independent market, with a scale of RMB 20 billion in the first phase and 2-3 management partners will be set up. Baidu Capital will recruit partners from the investment circle. Investors with an internet industry background, rich PE investment experience and outstanding performance will be the preferred target of Baidu Capital Management Partners.
The direction of investment is mainly for the mid-to-late projects in the field of pan-Internet. With investment quotas, the average investment for each project will be in the range of 50 million to 100 million U.S. dollars. It is not limited to RMB or U.S. dollar projects. For heavyweight projects, it will increase. Big investment quota.
In terms of fund sources, Baidu Capital's funding sources include several large insurance funds, securities companies, and a number of parent funds of professional organizations. In addition, Baidu also revealed that some government-invested investment institutions are very interested in participating in investment and are in close communication with Baidu.
A month ago, Baidu just announced the establishment of Baidu Ventures (Baidu Venture), with a US$200 million investment in the first phase, focusing on areas such as artificial intelligence, AR, and VR, focusing on early stage startup projects.
In other words, Baidu Venture Capital and Baidu Capital will include full-stage investment in venture projects. Baidu ventures will be in early stages and Baidu Capital will be late.
In addition, Baidu Chief Consultant Ren Xuyang is assisting Baidu CEO Li Yanhong in preparing Baidu Ventures and Baidu Capital, and selecting and recruiting first-rate fund management partners in the industry.
Baidu’s move may also become an important exit channel and method for many venture capital funds. At present, due to the unfavorable IPO environment of venture projects, domestic internet giants such as BAT are becoming one of the destinations of venture projects, which also provides exit channels for many venture capital funds.