Perfect World, Going Beyond Online Gaming, Invests $100 Million in VC Fund

Beijing-based game developer and publisher Perfect World (NASDAQ: PWRD) is to help set up a venture capital fund aimed at incubating small tech and media start-ups. Over the course of this decade, Perfect World will plough in a total of 643.5 million RMB (US$100 million).

We encountered the company just last week in data that showed that Perfect World raked in 7.8 percent of online gaming revenue in China in Q2 2011.

Perfect World was founded back in 2004, and is best known in China and numerous other online gaming markets for its MMORPGs titles, such as Forsaken World (pictured above) and the Chinese-themed Heroes of Three Kingdoms. In a press release confirming the news, the company’s chairman and CEO, Michael Chi, says:

We believe our extensive knowledge in the industry and our own growth experience will enable us to better analyze and capture the significant market opportunities. We’re also excited about the potential synergies we can achieve with our portfolio companies through this venture capital fund, which we believe will help us further build up our user base and strengthen our online platform.

We look forward to seeing which new tech companies will be the first to get this new backing. Although Perfect World is just a “limited partner” in this, it’s possible the company will hold some sway in the fund, and there might be more of a tendency to fund Chinese or Asian start-ups, as we have seen from Li Kai-fu’s start-up incubator Innovation Works.

Speaking of which… Just last week Innovation Works attracted $180 million from Silicon Valley luminaries such as Ron Conway. It’s turning out to be a pretty good month for Chinese VC power.