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April 25, Beijing
- IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced today that it has invested $15 million in China’s Innovation Works Fund III LP, a venture capital fund that focuses on early and mid-stage internet companies in China.
China’s Innovation Works invests in frontier technologies such as smart hardwares, corporate applications, internet finance, online education, artificial intelligence, big data and digital entertainment, aiming to bring financial returns to its investors and create new business opportunities for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises. China’s Innovation Works also comprises a Silicon Valley based branch investing in high-tech startups in US while also helping China’s Innovation Works investee companies in China to expand into international market.
China’s Innovation Works has created a strong incubation ecosystem in China that is playing a critical role in mentoring local entrepreneurs and providing them with resources - both domestically and internationally. In addition to Beijing and Shanghai, China’s Innovation Works is also setting up incubators across several major cities in China to develop a much needed ecosystem for entrepreneurship in those areas.
“We welcome IFC’s investment and, more importantly, its recognition of China’s Innovation Works’ business model”, said Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, Founder of China’s Innovation Works. “IFC, with its strong reputation and global investment exposure, will be a valuable partner for us and will provide tremendous benefits for our existing and future portfolio companies.”
“We believe that China’s Innovation Works will continue to play a critical role in creating a strong incubation ecosystem throughout China, and many of the investment themes are strongly aligned with IFC’s development priorities in China of increasing access to services and products,” said Atul Mehta, Director of IFC TMT, Venture Capital & PE Funds. “We also
expect China’s Innovation Works to be a key partner for IFC as we expands our support for incubators and accelerators across geographies to support more entrepreneurship and innovation.
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About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, IFC uses its capital, expertise, and influence, to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY15, IFC’s long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About China’s Innovation Works
China’s Innovation Works was founded by Dr. Kai-fu Lee in September 2009 with an innovative model of "investment + incubation". After over six years of rapid development, its unique features and advantages in specialization and internationalization have become increasingly evident and make it one of the most influential service-oriented venture capitals. The funds under the management of China’s Innovation Works are from leading global and domestic investors, including three USD funds and two RMB funds, and the total value exceeds 7 billion RMB. As of March 2016, China’s Innovation Works has invested in over 200 projects, in areas like big data, digital entertainment, intelligent hardware, O2O and shared economy, online education, business services, cloud computing, e-commerce, etc. Its investment has also expanded from seed round and early angel round to A round, B round and C round. Through its programmatic investment, China’s Innovation Works has created complete industrial ecosystems in many of the above mentioned areas. China’s Innovation Works is awarded the "national science and technology business incubator" by Ministry of Science and the " incubation base of emerging strategic industries in Beijing " and the "Creative Incubator of National Innovation Demonstration Zone in Zhongguancun" by the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission.
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