BBVA backs China Sinovation Ventures’ fourth fund

The vehicle – Sinovation Fund IV – has a target of $500 million. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) said in February that it would invest $15 million in the fund.

Sinovation looks to make early-stage investments in internet consumption, business-to-business (B2B), and education, but with a special focus on artificial intelligence (AI) technology. With AI becoming more important in the banking sector, BBVA said the investment will give the firm insight and access to the growing Chinese innovation market. It also plans to co-invest in some local AI technological start-ups.

“By investing into the Sinovation Fund IV, we are ensuring we can learn from and build connections with some of the most promising AI solutions being built anywhere on the planet. Just as importantly, we can do it via a high-performing investment platform with a strong return profile,” said BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila.

Sinovation, was set up by Kai-Fu Lee, formerly head of Google China, in 2009. The GP currently manages six US dollar and renminbi funds, with total assets under management more than $1.7 billion. Its third US dollar fund closed at $300 million in late 2016, in conjunction with a renminbi-denominated vehicle of RMB2.5 billion ($375 million).

Sinovation's investments are mainly focused on China, with a small portion of the corpus deployed overseas. Foreign companies should have products and services that can be transferred to China. Recent China deals include AI specialist Zhuiyi Technology, e-commerce platform Hua Juan, and autonomous vehicle software developer Momenta.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Fundraising
• Venture
• Technology
• China
• TMT
• LPs
• Venture
• Sinovation Ventures