Former Google China chief to finance technology start-ups

Kai-fu Lee, Google Inc's former China chief who quit the search giant last week, said on Sunday he would launch his own business this week to fund Chinese technology start-ups.

Lee, described by the Chinese media as the face of Google in China, said on his Twitter page that he would launch a venture business platform, via which young Chinese can get "angel funding" to grow their enterprises.

An angel fund is a popular kind of venture capital usually offered to a start-up in exchange for convertible debt or an equity stake. Many technology giants such as Google and Apple Inc were initially supported by various angel funds.

Lee's Twitter account is verified by Twitter.com, the mini-blogging service provider.

On his Twitter page, Lee, who joined Google from Microsoft in 2005, also noted he will hold a press conference today to formally announce the launch of his own business.

Lee this week will launch an investment firm called Innovation Works, with about 800 million yuan ($117.1 million) in funds, to help technology start-ups grow on the Chinese mainland, according to media reports over the weekend.

The fund, in particular, will focus on three sectors -- Internet, Mobile and Information Technology, the reports said.

Lee's departure comes at a time when Google is inching forward in its battle with Baidu in the world's largest Internet market by users, while fighting Beijing regulators who want Google to censor its searches.

"I firmly agreed with the head offices of Google that we needed great patience to make the best products (in China) from the very beginning," the industry media China Computer World (CCW) reported on its Chinese-language website, citing a letter from Lee.

"(We) should not attempt to hasten the pace or have a speculative attitude on the hope that we can make a quick success by offering products that can immediately earn money," CCW reported, quoting Lee's letter in response to his resignation from Google.

Reuters/Global Times

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