China's Kuang-Chi Group has today announced the launch of its Global Community of Innovation (GCI) Fund II and the opening of its Israel-based International Innovation Headquarters. As the first Chinese fund of its kind, GCI Fund is targeting companies that seek collaboration with local Chinese firms for entry into their domestic markets. GCI Fund II will invest $250 million in global technology companies active in the areas of: smart city/smart home, IoT, artificial intelligence, VR/AR and robotic, and be supported by a new China-based incubator, established by Shenzhen-based Kuang-Chi to help bring its portfolio companies to the Chinese market.
Kuang-Chi chairman Dr. RuopengLiu said, "We were able to quickly deploy the $50-million GCI Fund I in exceptional companies that operate in sectors we know well and we'd like to build on this momentum with Fund II. Working with our partner in Israel, we've identified a wealth of opportunities to expand our portfolio and give our joint investment team an expanded strategic and financial mandate."
Kuang-Chi Global Strategy Officer Dorian Barak, a veteran Israeli venture investor said that GCI Fund's investment is "creating unique opportunities for startups, particularly those from Israel. China represents a natural market for Israeli firms developing technology in the areas of smart cities, computer vision, connected home, artificial intelligence, and robotics."
GCI Fund I was established in 2016, and now has stakes in several Israeli companies, including: computer vision pioneer eyeSight; voice analytics developer Beyond Verbal; and, video intelligence and analytics provider AgentVi.
Yangyang Zhang, Kuang-Chi co-founder and CEO of KuangChi Science, the Hong Kong listed affiliate of the Kuang-Chi Group, said, "We have moved from success to success in Israel, and I'm delighted by the pace of our good progress showed in our recent investments in eyeSight, AgentVi and Beyond Verbal."
Within six months of its investment, Kuang-Chi and eyeSight jointly built a local team in China to provide markets with the most advanced embedded computer vision solutions currently available. In December, Beyond Verbal signed its first cooperation agreement in China, with the Second Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou.
According to Liu, "GCI portfolio companies will share access to cutting-edge technology that includes over 2,000 patents and R&D from around the world. Each of these investments comes with an opportunity to expand their business in China and establish relationships with global market leaders across multiple industries."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2017
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