David Zhu, former COO of Chinese search giant Baidu, has joined GGV Capital as an investor. Based in Menlo Park and Shanghai, GGV Capital invests in companies that bridge the gap between the U.S. and China. Its portfolio includes top Chinese tech companies like Alibaba, Kingsoft, Qunar, UCWeb, Youku-Tudou, and YY.com.
Zhu’s experience at Baidu, which is the largest search engine in China by market share, makes him an ideal fit for GGV Capital. The firm’s managing partner Jixun Foo and Zhu have already worked together on several projects, including social media management platform Social Touch and E Dian Bao (EDB), which supports 2,000 vendors on Taobao, one of Alibaba’s biggest e-commerce platforms.
Zhu worked at Baidu between 2002 and 2007. Prior to that, he was vice president of Han Consulting, where he focused on business development and sales. Zhu also co-founded Original Power Information Technology Co., and served as a vice president of UFSoft, China’s largest software company, from 1997 to 2000.
In a statement, Foo said “David brings unique insight into the relationship between large companies and start-ups companies, and the partnership opportunities and the operational challenges for each one. As the US and China tech economies continue to convergence, David’s experience will be invaluable in helping our portfolio companies navigate these important changes.”