China investors launch $77m cross-border AI fund
Chinese start-up accelerator Comb+ and the Beijing Institute of Collaborate Innovation have jointly launched a fund targeting EUR65 million ($77 million) that will invest artificial intelligence (AI) companies expanding into China.
The fund is expected to focus on Northern European entrepreneurs. It will function as part of the Comb+ Sino Track program, which has supported 19 Nordic start-ups since being launched last year.
"We see Helsinki, Beijing's sister city, as the best place in the world to launch our fund," Leo Zhu, CEO of Comb+, said in a statement. "Our ambitions are global and we are today opening the Sino Track program to all exceptional technology and cultural startup aspiring to enter the Chinese market."
Sino Track alumni include Flexound, a Finnish acoustic technology developer that was able to establish a sales presence in China within a three-week expansion push. Comb+ says it has connected the company with more than 20 Chinese investors and institutions such as media company Xinhuanet and electronics retailer Gome.
The launch was held at a China-focused event in Helsinki that hosted Chinese and Finnish government officials, as well as investors including Comb+ partner Ascend Capital Partners. Ascend confirmed at the event that it would invest EUR24 million across four Finnish companies in electronics-related fields.
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