One week after Baidu announced the launch of a $3 billion internet investment fund, U.S. venture capital Redpoint Ventures spelled another good news for anxious Chinese startups who are seeking to raise fresh capital amid a funding slowdown or “capital winter” as it’s referred by Chinese entrepreneurs.
The Menlo Park－based venture firm announced yesterday that it has closed ACE Redpoint Ventures China I, L.P., a $180 million USD fund to invest in early stage consumer and enterprise technology companies based in China.
Redpoint China will be led by David Yuan, Tony Wu and Reggie Zhang who have extensive experiences and a proven track record investing in the Chinese startup market. The new fund will invest in about 25 companies with initial investments expected to average $1-4 million USD, according to the firm.
“With offices in Beijing and Shanghai, Redpoint China will help Chinese entrepreneurs build successful companies by providing access to Redpoint’s global network, domain expertise and capital.” according to a company statement.
Upon the new funding, Redpoint China will run as an independent fund rather than a branch of the global entity, Daivid Yuan noted.
Since 2005, Redpoint Ventures has actively invested in over 35 companies in China. It has achieved a number of successful exits, including Cgen Digital (acquired by Focus Media), Qihoo 360 (NYSE IPO), iDreamSky (Nasdaq IPO), and Domob (acquired by Blue Focus).
More recently, Redpoint has invested in high profile startup companies, including mobile video platform Yixia, APUS, one of the fastest growing Android apps and platforms globally; and Renrenche, a top C2C used-car marketplace in China. Over 90% of Redpoint’s investments in China have been in early stage, where Redpoint Ventures has been either the founding or the first institution investor in the company.
Founded in 1999, Redpoint Ventures has backed over 465 companies globally with 140 IPOs and M+As. In total, the firm manages over $4 billion across multiple funds and Redpoint China is the tenth independent fund managed by the company.