China-based online game developer Perfect World yesterday established a venture capital fund, investing RMB643.5m ($100.7m). The fund will concentrate on the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector.
The fund will be formed by a subsidiary company owned by Perfect World, in conjunction with several as yet unnamed partner companies from outside. Perfect World’s investment will be made over a nine year period, as a limited partner.
Founded in 2004, Perfect World develops on-line virtual reality games, or massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), and its flagship game shares its name with the company. Perfect World acquired the US-based MMORPG developer Cryptic Studios from video games corporation Atari for $50m in May, and paid $8.4m for a stake in game company Runic Games, in 2010.
Michael Chi, chairman of Perfect World, said: "We are very pleased to start the process to invest in a TMT-focused venture capital fund. We believe our extensive knowledge in the industry and our own growth experience will enable us to better analyze and capture the significant market opportunities. We are also excited about the potential synergies we can achieve with our portfolio companies through this venture capital fund, which we believe will help us further build up our user base and strengthen our online platform."
Perfect World’s second quarter figures for 2011, released last month, showed a significant leap in revenue to $121m from $93m, year-on-year. Profits were $49m, compared to $31m the year before.