China-based internet group Baidu has formed a $500m growth-stage fund called Changcheng Investment Partners to back internet and artificial intelligence (AI) technology developers, The Paper reported yesterday.
The $500m figure represents the fund’s first phase, according to The Paper, though it did not reveal any plans for a final close, nor whether Baidu is providing the entirety of the capital. Li Xinzhe, Baidu’s former chief financial officer, will run the fund as chief executive.
Changcheng will however operate as an independent entity, and will invest an average of $20m to $30m in each deal. Its formation follows Baidu’s launch of two other funds, Baidu Ventures and Baidu Capital, in 2016.
Although it has not invested as frequently as Tencent or as extravagantly as Alibaba, its other chief rival in China’s internet space, Baidu has been an increasingly frequent participant in venture capital, particularly in the AI and autonomous driving sectors.
Formed with $200m, Baidu Ventures funds AI technology developers at seed to series B stage, while Baidu Capital, which concentrates on growth and late-stage deals, has more than $3bn of capital from which to invest.
Baidu’s most notable investments include Nio, the smart electric vehicle developer valued at $5bn as of November 2017, and on-demand ride service Uber China, for which it led a $1.2bn round in 2015 prior to its $7bn acquisition by Didi Chuxing.