China-based online auction company Alibaba Group has reportedly set up a RMB300m ($50m) corporate venturing fund under its online auction site, Taobao.
Alibaba has also created AliVenture, another corporate venturing unit with a team of 16 to 20 investment professionals, according to news provider Asian Venture Capital Journal (AVCJ). The company also has people working in its Alibaba Capital Partners unit.
The Taobao fund will only support developers who produce digital applications that fit into its marketing platform, AVCJ said.
The news provider said China-based corporate venturing dealflow trebled from $611m in 2006 to $2.2bn in 2010, which fundraising was $4bn in 2010.
Tencent, founded in 1998 with corporate venturing backing and now China’s largest internet company, started its Collaboration Fund in January last year.
Internet search giant Baidu has no dedicated fund or investment arm, but its corporate development department is active, AVCH said, with recent investments including a majority stake in travel search engine Qunar and a minority interest in Anjuke, an online real estate platform.
AVCJ said video site Youku and social network Renren were expected to start a venturing programme after floating on stock exchanges in the past year.