Li Yinan
Famous techpreneur Li Yinan (b. 1970) is the former CTO of Baidu and former CEO of Wuxian Xunqi, a China Mobile subsidiary. After Li graduated from Huazhong University of Science & Technology with a master’s degree in Optics Engineering, he joined Huawei and was promoted to vice-president of its Central Research Department in just six months; in 1997 Li because the youngest vice-president at Huawei. In 2001, Li quit Huawei and started his own data communication company, Harbour Networks, which followed the same structure of Huawei and soon became its main competitor. In 2005, Harbour Networks lost in its intense battle with Huawei and was acquired by the larger player. Even though Li rejoined Huawei after the acquisition, he was never able to re-enter the core management team because of his damaged relationship with Ren Zhengfei, the founder and president of Huawei. In April 2015, Li founded his smart e-scooter company, NIU Smart Scooters. Li began investing in 2010 and joined GSR Ventures in 2011. Up to June 2015, Li had invested in more than 10 companies from the TMT sector. Li stood trial for insider trading in March 2016, according to news reports.
