Ex-Google China chief to set up incubator

Former Google China president Kai-fu Lee says he is leaving the search giant to set up a startup incubator. On Twitter page he suggests he will launch a seed fund to help develop a venture business platform called Innovation Works, employing between 100 and 150 young Chinese entrepreneurs to develop their own ideas. Those projects deemed good enough will receive seed funding from an fund affiliated to the platform before being spun off into separate companies.

Lee says he will also organise funding rounds for the firms, and will continue to contribute alongside outside investors. Hs says he expects 20 or so ideas to make it to seed funding stage, with around half of those going on to Series A funding rounds.

WI Harper Group, Foxconn Technology Group, Legend Group, the New Oriental Education & Technology Group and YouTube founder Steve Chen are reportedly providing USD115 for Lee’s Beijing-based fund.

Lee’s departure comes as Google’s progress in China appears to be stalling. The search giant recently saw its market share in China drop below 30%, while native rival Baidu maintains a dominant position in the country. Days before Lee announced his resignation, he told The Daily Telegraph that mobile search was key to Google’s future success in China.