Y Combinator hires ex-Baidu COO to lead China business

In addition to launching and running YC China, Lu will serve as head of YC Research, the firm's non-profit research lab launched last year to conduct long-term or open-ended research for the benefit of the broader community. YC China will be based in Beijing, while YC Research is located in Seattle.

The launch date for YC China has not been announced; YC President Sam Altman told Tech Crunch that Lu initially plans to recruit Chinese entrepreneurs for the US program through his network and events like YC's "Startup School" in Beijing this year. Once a permanent program is established, the company expects substantial synergies between the US and China branches.

"We think that a significant percentage of the largest technology companies that are founded in the next decade will be based in the US and China," said Altman in a blog post. "YC's greatest strength is our founder community and with the launch of YC China we believe we have a special opportunity to include many more Chinese founders in our global community."

Lu joined Baidu in January 2017 from Microsoft, where he spent nearly eight years. He served as president of the online services division from 2009 to 2013 and as executive vice president of the applications and services group from 2013 to 2016. Prior to Microsoft he spent over 10 years at Yahoo where his last role was executive vice president of the search and advertising technology group.

Founded in 2005, YC is widely credited with pioneering the for-profit accelerator model in which investors pool capital to back start-ups in hopes of a lucrative exit multiple. Similar ventures in Asia include Korea-based SparkLabs, Japan's Incubate Fund, and Singapore's Joyful Frog Digital Incubator, which closed its accelerator program in 2016 citing growing support for start-ups from governments and corporate players in Southeast Asia as well as a desire to explore new business models.

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