Kai-Fu Lee built one of the most distinguished technical careers in AI before turning to venture capital - a Carnegie Mellon PhD in computer science, speech recognition work at Apple, founding director of Microsoft Research China (later Microsoft Research Asia, which trained a generation of China's top AI leaders), and finally President of Google Greater China. Days after resigning from Google in 2009, he founded Innovation Works, later rebranded Sinovation Ventures, built specifically to identify and nurture Chinese AI entrepreneurs using his unmatched network spanning Silicon Valley and China. Sinovation was one of the first Chinese venture firms to establish a US presence, and Lee has grown it into a leading AI-focused investment platform managing $3 billion across dual-currency funds and more than 400 portfolio companies. He is the author of the bestselling book 'AI Superpowers' and has more than 50 million social media followers as one of the most recognized voices in global AI discourse.
Education
BS, Computer Science, Columbia University
PhD, Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence), Carnegie Mellon University
Previous Experience
Speech Recognition Researcher, Apple (developed Chinese dictation software, 1990-1996)
Executive, Silicon Graphics (SGI)
Founding Director, Microsoft Research China (later Microsoft Research Asia, 1998-2005)
Corporate VP, Microsoft (2002-2005)
President, Google Greater China (2005-2009)
Notable Investments
Megvii4ParadigmInsilico Medicine 3696.HK
Career Timeline
1988
Earns a PhD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon, developing the SPHINX speech recognition system.
1998
Founds Microsoft Research China, later renamed Microsoft Research Asia, training a generation of AI leaders now at Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba.
2005
Becomes President of Google Greater China, launching Google.cn and doubling Google China's market share.
2009
Resigns from Google in September and founds Innovation Works (later Sinovation Ventures) days later, with a $115 million debut fund.
2023
Founds 01.AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence company, while continuing to lead Sinovation.