Kai-Fu Lee

{{Short description|Taiwanese computer scientist, businessman, and writer}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Kai-Fu Lee

| native_name = 李開復

| image = 2007GoogleTaiwanPressConference KaifuLee.jpg

| caption = Kai-Fu Lee in December 2007

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|December 3, 1961}}

| birth_place = Taipei County, Taiwan

| death_date =

| death_place =

| citizenship = Taiwanese
American (until 2011){{cite news |last1=Shao |first1=Heng |title=Ex-Google China Chief Lee Kaifu Under Propagandist Attack |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hengshao/2013/10/12/ex-google-china-chief-lee-kaifu-under-propagandist-attack/ |access-date=1 November 2024 |work=Forbes |date=15 October 2013 |language=en}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Businessman|computer scientist|investor|writer}}

| fields = {{Tree list}}

| known_for = {{UBL|Artificial intelligence expertise|Co-founder of Microsoft Research Asia|Former President of Google China|Co-founder of Sinovation Ventures|Founder of 01.AI}}

| education = Columbia University (BS)
Carnegie Mellon University (PhD)

| thesis_title = Large-vocabulary speaker-independent continuous speech recognition: The SPHINX system

| thesis_year = 1988

| thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/303541519

| doctoral_advisor = Raj Reddy

}}

Kai-Fu Lee ({{zh|t=李開復|s=李开复|p=Lǐ Kāifù|c=|first=t}}; born December 3, 1961) is a Taiwanese businessman, computer scientist, investor, and writer. He is currently based in Beijing, China.

Lee has worked as an executive, first at Apple, then SGI, Microsoft, and Google. He became the focus of a 2005 legal dispute between Google and Microsoft, his former employer, due to a one-year non-compete agreement that he signed with Microsoft in 2000 when he became its corporate vice president of interactive services.{{Cite web |url=http://cnreviews.com/business/companies/lee-kai-fu-resignation_20090904.html |title=Google China's Kaifu Lee Resigns | CNReviews |access-date=September 4, 2009 |archive-date=September 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906180333/http://cnreviews.com/business/companies/lee-kai-fu-resignation_20090904.html |url-status=dead }}

He works in the Chinese internet sector and was the founding director of Microsoft Research Asia, serving from 1998 to 2000; and president of Google China, serving from July 2005 through September 4, 2009. After resigning from his post, he founded Sinovation Ventures, a venture capital firm. He created a website, {{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|Wǒxuéwǎng}} ({{zh|s=我学网|c=|t=|p=|l=I-Learn Web}}) dedicated to helping young Chinese people in their studies and careers and wrote "10 Letters to Chinese College Students". He is a micro-blogger in China, in particular on Sina Weibo, where he has over 50 million followers.

In his 2018 book AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, Lee describes how China is rapidly moving forward to become the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI), and may well surpass the United States, because of China's demographics and its amassing of huge data sets.{{cite book| title= AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order| author= Kai-Fu Lee| publisher= Houghton Mifflin| date= September 25, 2018| isbn= 9781328546395| oclc= 1035622189| location= Boston, Mass| url= https://archive.org/details/aisuperpowerschi0000leek}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/understanding-chinas-ai-strategy|title=Understanding China's AI Strategy|last=Allen|first=Gregory|date=February 6, 2019|website=Center for a New American Security}} In a September 28, 2018 interview on the PBS Amanpour program, he stated that AI, with all its capabilities, will never be capable of creativity or empathy.{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/kai-fu-lee-on-the-race-for-artificial-intelligence/|date=September 28, 2018|title=Kai-Fu Lee on the Race for Artificial Intelligence|website=PBS}}

Early life and education

Lee was born in Taipei, Taiwan.{{Cite book|last1=Waibel|first1=Alexander|title=Readings in Speech Recognition|last2=Lee|first2=Kai-Fu|publisher=Morgan Kaufmann|year=1990|isbn=1-55860-124-4|location=San Mateo, CA|page=610|language=en}} He is the son of Li Tianmin, a legislator and historian from Sichuan, China. Lee has detailed his personal life and career history in his autobiography in both Chinese and English, Making a World of Difference, published in October 2011.{{cite web |last=Greene |first=Aislyn |date=October 26, 2011 |title=Former Microsoft exec Kai-Fu Lee likes Gates, but not a Ballmer fan |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2011/10/former-microsoft-kai-fu-lee-writes-book.html |access-date=2022-06-10 |website=Bizjournals}}

In 1973, Lee immigrated to the United States and attended Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He received a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, with a major in computer science from Columbia University in 1983.{{cite web |title=Chazen Web Journal : Chazen Article : Google+Conquers+China:+An+Interview+with+Kai-Fu+Lee |url=http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/chazen/journal/article/137235/Google+Conquers+China%3A+An+Interview+with+Kai-Fu+Lee |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404162252/http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/chazen/journal/article/137235/Google+Conquers+China%3A+An+Interview+with+Kai-Fu+Lee |archive-date=April 4, 2012 |access-date=2012-04-12 |df=mdy-all}}{{cite web |date=2013 |title=Five Accomplished Alumni To Be Presented John Jay Awards in March |url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/archive/winter12/around_the_quads1 |access-date=December 21, 2020 |website=Columbia College Today |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605194738/https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/archive/winter12/around_the_quads1 |url-status=dead }} He then earned a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in 1988.{{cite web |title=Kai-Fu Lee on the Future of AI in the United States and China |url=https://www.ncuscr.org/podcast/kai-fu-lee-future-ai-united-states-china/ |access-date=2022-06-10 |website=NCUSCR |language=en-US}}{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Kai-Fu |title=Kai-Fu Lee {{!}} Speaker {{!}} TED |url=https://www.ted.com/speakers/kai_fu_lee |access-date=2022-06-10 |website=Ted.com |language=en}}

A Taiwanese national by birth, Lee also acquired U.S. citizenship through naturalization while young. He voluntarily relinquished his U.S. citizenship in 2011 and retained only his Taiwanese nationality, citing the reason as wanting to "get back to [his] roots" after his aging.{{cite news |title=Technologist Lee Kai-fu goes public about 2011 renunciation of U.S. citizenship |url=https://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/04/29/technologist-lee-kai-fu-goes-public-about-2011-renunciation-of-u-s-citizenship/comment-page-1/ |access-date=1 November 2024 |work=The Isaac Brock Society |date=29 April 2013}}

Career

= Academic research =

At Carnegie Mellon, Lee worked on topics in machine learning and pattern recognition. In 1986, he and Sanjoy Mahajan developed Bill,{{cite web |url=http://othello.dk/book/index.php/Kai_Fu_Lee |title=Kai Fu Lee - the Othello Wiki Book Project |access-date=2006-01-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925075642/http://othello.dk/book/index.php/Kai_Fu_Lee |archive-date=September 25, 2007 |df=mdy-all }} a Bayesian learning-based system for playing the board game Othello that won the US national tournament of computer players in 1989.{{cite web |url=http://www.ffothello.org/info/anthologie.htm |title=Fédération Française d'Othello - Histoire des programmes |website=Ffothello.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041028085643/http://www.ffothello.org/info/anthologie.htm |archive-date=2004-10-28}} In 1988, he completed his doctoral dissertation on Sphinx, which he claims is the first large-vocabulary, speaker-independent, continuous speech recognition system.{{cite news|last=Markoff|first=John|title=Talking to Machines: Progress Is Speeded|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/06/business/business-technology-talking-to-machines-progress-is-speeded.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 8, 1988|access-date=June 17, 2013}}

Lee has written two books on speech recognition and more than 60 papers in computer science. His doctoral dissertation was published in 1988 as a Kluwer monograph, Automatic Speech Recognition: The Development of the Sphinx Recognition System ({{ISBN|0898382963}}). Together with Alex Waibel, another Carnegie Mellon researcher, Lee edited Readings in Speech Recognition (1990, {{ISBN|1-55860-124-4}}).

= Apple, Silicon Graphics, and Microsoft =

After two years as a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon, Lee joined Apple Computer in 1990 as a principal research scientist. While at Apple (1990–1996), he headed R&D groups responsible for Apple Bandai Pippin,{{Cite web |url=http://t.qq.com/p/t/25619000908963 |title=李开复:我真正负责的产品是Pi |access-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803004720/http://t.qq.com/p/t/25619000908963 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,125772,pg,6,00.asp#pippin |title=PC World - the 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time |access-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-date=July 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726170431/http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,125772,pg,6,00.asp#pippin |url-status=dead }} PlainTalk, Casper (speech interface), and GalaTea (text to speech system) for Mac Computers.

Lee moved to Silicon Graphics in 1996 and spent a year as the Vice President of its Web Products division, and another year as president of its multimedia software division, Cosmo Software.

In 1998, Lee moved to Microsoft and went to Beijing, China where he played a key role in establishing the Microsoft Research (MSR) division there. MSR China later became known as Microsoft Research Asia, regarded as one of the best computer science research labs in the world.{{cite web|last=Huang|first=Gregory|title=The World's Hottest Computer Lab|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/402786/the-worlds-hottest-computer-lab/|work=MIT Technology Review|access-date=June 1, 2004|archive-date=December 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226063648/http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/402786/the-worlds-hottest-computer-lab/|url-status=dead}} Lee returned to the United States in 2000 and was promoted to corporate vice president of interactive services division at Microsoft from 2000 to 2005.

= Move from Microsoft to Google =

In July 2005, Lee left Microsoft to take a position at Google.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-settles-with-google-over-executive-hire/|title=Microsoft settles with Google over executive hire|website=CNET|access-date=2016-05-03}} The search company agreed to compensation worth in excess of $10 million, including a $2.5 million cash 'signing bonus' and another $1.5 million cash payment after one year, a package referred to internally at Google as 'unprecedented'.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/court-docs-ballmer-vowed-to-kill-google/|title=Court docs: Ballmer vowed to 'kill' Google|first=Ina|last=Fried|website=Cnet.com|access-date=July 8, 2022}}

On July 19, 2005, Microsoft sued Google and Lee in a Washington state court over Google's hiring of its former Vice President of Interactive Services, claiming that Lee was violating his non-compete agreement by working for Google within one year of leaving the Redmond-based software corporation. Microsoft argued that Lee would inevitably disclose proprietary information to Google if he was allowed to work there.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-sues-over-google-hire/|title=Microsoft sues over Google hire|website=CNET|access-date=2016-05-03}}

On July 28, 2005, Washington state Superior Court Judge Steven González granted Microsoft a temporary restraining order, which prohibited Lee from working on Google projects that compete with Microsoft pending a trial scheduled for January 9, 2006.{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/technology/07google.html?ex=1283745600&en=0a1f0870d0b111ef&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss | work=The New York Times | title=Google Official Says Frustration Drove Him From Microsoft | date=September 7, 2005}} On September 13, following a hearing, Judge González issued a ruling permitting Lee to work for Google, but barring him from starting work on some technical projects until the case went to trial in January 2006. Lee was still allowed to recruit employees for Google in China and to talk to government officials about licensing, but was prohibited from working on technologies such as search or speech recognition. Lee was also prohibited from setting budgets, salaries, and research directions for Google in China until the case was to go to trial in January 2006.{{cite news | url = https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20050913/webmsftgoog13/judge-rules-former-microsoft-executive-lee-can-recruit-for-google | newspaper=The Seattle Times | first=Gene | last=Johnson | title=Judge rules former Microsoft executive Lee can recruit for Google | date=September 13, 2005}}

Before the case could go to trial, on December 22, 2005, Google and Microsoft announced that they had reached a settlement whose terms are confidential, ending a five-month dispute between the two companies.

At Google China, Lee helped establish the company in the market and oversaw its growth in the country. Under his tenure, the Google.cn regional website was launched.{{Cite book|last=Lagerkvist|first=Johan|title=After the Internet, Before Democracy: Competing Norms in Chinese Media and Society|publisher=Peter Lang|year=2010|isbn=978-3-0343-0435-1|location=Bern|page=233}} He also strengthened the company's teams of engineers and scientists in the country.

On September 4, 2009, Lee announced his resignation from Google.{{cite web|last=Hof|first=Robert|date=September 4, 2009|title=Google China Head Kai-Fu Lee Leaves to Start New Venture|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2009-09-03/google-china-head-kai-fu-lee-leaves-to-start-new-venture|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Bloomberg.com}} He said "With a very strong leadership team in place, it seemed a very good moment for me to move to the next chapter in my career." Alan Eustace, senior Google vice-president for engineering, credited him with "helping dramatically to improve the quality and range of services that we offer in China, and ensuring that we continue to innovate on the Web for the benefit of users and advertisers".{{Cite web |url=http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/09/google_china_he.html |title=Google China Head Kai-Fu Lee Leaves to Start New Venture - BusinessWeek |access-date=September 9, 2009 |archive-date=September 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908003520/http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/09/google_china_he.html |url-status=dead }} Several months after Lee's departure, Google announced that it would stop censorship and move its mainland China servers to Hong Kong.{{cite news|last=Helft|first=Miguel|title=Google Shuts China Site in Dispute Over Censorship|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/technology/23google.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 22, 2010}}

= Sinovation Ventures =

Lee is also an active investor, corralling large amounts of venture capital for the financing, incubation, gestation, and establishment of new high-technology startup companies around the world.

On September 7, 2009,{{cite news | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS29226+07-Sep-2009+BW20090907 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090910202150/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS29226+07-Sep-2009+BW20090907 | url-status = dead | archive-date = September 10, 2009 | work=Reuters | title=Dr. Kai-Fu Lee Leaves Google, Starts Innovation Works | date=September 7, 2009}} he announced details of a $115 million venture capital fund called "Innovation Works" (later changed to "Sinovation Ventures") offering seed money for the incubation and spearheading new early-stage high-technology start-up companies{{cite web|url=http://www.chuangxin.com/ |title=创新工场 (Sinovation Ventures) |website=Chuangxin.com |date= |access-date=2022-07-08}} that aims to create five successful Chinese start-ups a year in internet and mobile internet businesses or in vast hosting services known as cloud computing. The Innovation Works fund has attracted several investors, including Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube; Foxconn, the electronics contract manufacturer; Legend Holdings, the parent of PC maker Lenovo; and WI Harper Group.{{cite web |url=http://www.ftchinese.com/story.php?storyid=001028641 |title=中国需要"创新工场" - FT中文网 - FTChinese.com |access-date=2009-09-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090913143357/http://www.ftchinese.com/story.php?storyid=001028641 |archive-date=September 13, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}

In September 2010, Lee described two Google Android projects for Chinese users: Tapas, a smartphone operating system tailored for Chinese users; and Wandoujia (SnapPea), a desktop phone manager for Android.{{cite news | url = https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/09/06/ex-googler-lee-aims-for-chinas-mobile-users | work=The Wall Street Journal | title=Ex-Googler Aims for China's Mobile Users | date=September 6, 2010}}

In December 2012, Innovation Works announced that it had closed a second US$275 million fund.{{cite news | url = https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/tag/innovation-works/ | work=The Wall Street Journal | title=Early Stage Venture Capitalist Brings Yuan to China's Start-Up Scene | date=December 21, 2012}}

In September 2016, the company announced its corporate name change from Innovation Works to "Sinovation Ventures," closing US$674 million (4.5 billion Chinese yuan) capital injection. Total fund size of Sinovation Ventures exceed US$1 billion.{{cite news | url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/sinovation-ventures-raises-675-million-in-fresh-capital-1473648511 | work=The Wall Street Journal | title=Sinovation Ventures Raises $675 Million in Fresh Capital | date=September 11, 2016}} In April 2018, Sinovation Ventures announced its US dollar Fund IV of $500 million. To date, Sinovation Ventures' total asset under management with its dual currency reaches US$2 billion and has invested over 300 portfolios primarily in China.{{cite news | url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-25/china-fund-raises-500-million-to-snap-up-cheaper-ai-startups | work=Bloomberg | title=China Fund Raises $500 Million to Snap Up Cheaper AI Startups | date=April 24, 2018}}

= 01.AI =

In March 2023, Lee founded 01.AI, an artificial intelligence startup focused on building large language models (LLMs) for the Chinese market.{{Cite web |last=Liao |first=Rita |date=2023-11-05 |title=Valued at $1B, Kai-Fu Lee's LLM startup unveils open source model |url=https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/05/valued-at-1b-kai-fu-lees-llm-startup-unveils-open-source-model/ |access-date=2024-01-23 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}} In November 2023 the company released its first LLM, Yi-34B.{{Cite news |date=2023-11-05 |title=AI Pioneer Kai-Fu Lee Builds $1 Billion Startup in Eight Months |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-05/kai-fu-lee-s-open-source-01-ai-bests-llama-2-according-to-hugging-face |access-date=2024-01-23 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}

Previous positions

Vice President, Google; President, Google Greater China, July 2005–September 4, 2009
Corporate Vice President, Natural Interactive Services Division (NISD), Microsoft Corp. 2000–July 2005{{cite web | url=http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/kaifu/default.mspx |title = Kai-Fu Lee: (Former) Corporate Vice President, Natural Interactive Services Division|website = Microsoft|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050724011116/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/kaifu/default.mspx|archive-date = July 24, 2005}}
Founder & Managing Director, Microsoft Research Asia, China, 1998–2000
President, Cosmo Software, Multimedia software business unit of Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI), 1999–2000
Vice President & General Manager, Web Products, Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI), 1998–1999
Vice President, Interactive Media Group, Apple Computer, 1997–1998
Director, Interactive Media, Advanced Technology Group, Apple Computer, 1994–1997
Manager, Speech & Language Technologies Group, Apple Computer, 1991–1994
Principal Speech Scientist, Apple Computer, 1990–1991
Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, July 1990
Research Computer Scientist, Carnegie Mellon University, 1988–1990{{cite web|url=http://www.ri.cmu.edu/pub_files/pub2/lee_k_f_1990_1/lee_k_f_1990_1.pdf|title=Kai-fu Lee's Official Bio in a Journal Publication in 1990|website=Ri.cmu.edu}}

Recognition

Chairman World Economic Forum's Global AI Council
Asia House Asian Business Leader 2018{{cite news|title=Kai-Fu Lee named Asia House Asian Business Leader 2018|url=https://asiahouse.org/kai-fu-lee-named-asia-house-asian-business-leader-2018/|website=Asiahouse.org|access-date=June 27, 2018|date=June 27, 2018}}
Fellow, IEEE (inducted 2002)
Member, Committee of 100
Time 100, 2013{{cite news|title=The 2013 TIME 100|url=https://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/kai-fu-lee/|work=The Times|access-date=May 18, 2013|date=April 18, 2013}}
Honorary Doctorate Degree, Carnegie Mellon University
Honorary Doctorate Degree, City University of Hong Kong{{cite web |title=Kai-Fu Lee |url=https://www.asiaglobalinstitute.hku.hk/kai-fulee |access-date=2022-06-10 |website=Asiaglobalinstitute.hku.hk |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Publications

{{Cite book |title=AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order |author=Kai-Fu Lee |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |date=September 25, 2018 |isbn=9781328546395 |oclc=1035622189 |location=Boston, Mass |url=https://archive.org/details/aisuperpowerschi0000leek}}{{cite web |last=Fannin |first=Rebecca |date=July 16, 2017 |title=AI Superpowers By Kai-Fu Lee Defines A New World Order For Silicon Valley, China |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccafannin/2018/07/16/ai-superpowers-by-kai-fu-lee-defines-a-new-world-order-for-silicon-valley-china/?sh=3ba38cbb6f75 |work=Forbes}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/25/opinion/trump-china-trade-economy-tech.html |title=Trump to China: 'I Own You.' Guess Again: The Chinese are catching up to the U.S. in many ways, and the president grasps only part of the reason |author=Thomas L. Friedman |series=Opinion |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 25, 2018 |access-date=September 26, 2018 |author-link=Thomas L. Friedman}}
Be Your Personal Best (《做最好的自己》, published September 2005, People's Publishing House)
Making A World of Difference - Kai-Fu Lee Biography (《世界因你而不同》, published September 2009, China CITIC Press)
Seeing Life Through Death (《向死而生》, published July 2015, by China CITIC Press)
A Walk Into The Future (《与未来同行》, published October 2006, People's Publishing House)
To Student With Love (《一往情深》, published October 2007, People's Publishing House)
Weibo Changing Everything (《微博改变一切》, published February 2011, Beijing Xiron Books Co., Ltd)
Artificial Intelligence (《人工智能》, published May 2017, Beijing Xiron Books Co., Ltd)
AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future (with Chen Qiufan.《AI 2041：預見10個未來新世界》, published June 2021, Taiwan Commonwealth Publishing Co., Ltd)

Controversies

Lee was barred from Weibo for three days after he used Weibo to complain about China's Internet controls. A February 16, 2013, post summarized a Wall Street Journal article about how slow speeds and instability deter overseas businesses from locating critical functions in China. In January 2013, he also posted support for staff of a Guangzhou-based newspaper during a standoff with government censors.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-02-18/ex-google-china-head-with-30-million-followers-barred-from-weibo|title=Ex-Google China Head With 30 Million Followers Barred From Weibo|date=February 18, 2013|access-date=July 8, 2022|website=Bloomberg.com}} He was also a vocal critic of the government's blocking of GitHub, which he said was detrimental to China's competitiveness.{{Cite book|last=Roberts|first=Margaret E.|title=Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China's Great Firewall|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-691-20400-0|location=Princeton, NJ|page=114}}

Personal life

Lee posted on Weibo on September 5, 2013, that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.Lee's Sina Weibo on September 5, 2013 part 1.{{Cite web|url=https://passport.weibo.com/visitor/visitor?entry=miniblog&a=enter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fweibo.com%2F1197161814%2FA89OrlCql%3Fmod%3Dweibotime&domain=.weibo.com&ua=php-sso_sdk_client-0.6.36&_rand=1657322231.8506|title=Sina Visitor System|website=Passport.weibo.com|access-date=July 8, 2022}} In December 2018, Lee spoke at the End Well Symposium on end of life in San Francisco, stating: "I was a maniacal workaholic. That workaholism ended abruptly about five years ago, when I was diagnosed with Stage IV lymphoma."{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/work/1488217/a-former-symbol-of-silicon-valleys-crush-it-culture-now-regrets-working-so-much/|title=A former symbol of Silicon Valley's "crush it" culture now regrets working so much|website=Quartz.com|date=December 9, 2018 |access-date=4 June 2020}}

References

External links

[http://www.sinovationventures.com/index.php/home/aboutus/teams.html Profile at Sinovation Ventures] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027005939/https://sinovationventures.com/index.php/home/aboutus/teams.html |date=October 27, 2021 }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20111129015148/http://kaifulee.diandian.com/post/2011-11-28/7231321 Making a World of Difference] – 2011 autobiography (English)
{{LCAuth|n88119198|Kai-fu Lee|11|}}

= Interviews =

[https://innovator.news/interview-of-the-week-kai-fu-lee-79f98fb8c186?gi=907188413394 BBC Interview of the Week: Kai-Fu Lee (2018)]{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
[https://www.ted.com/talks/the_ted_interview_kai_fu_lee_on_the_future_of_ai "Kai-Fu Lee on the Future of AI"], 2019 TED Interview
[https://lexfridman.com/kai-fu-lee/ "Kai-Fu Lee: AI Superpowers – China and Silicon Valley"], 2019 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Podcast

Category:1961 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American businesspeople

Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers

Category:20th-century American scientists

Category:21st-century American businesspeople

Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers

Category:21st-century American scientists

Category:American bloggers

Category:American chairpersons of corporations

Category:American chief executives of financial services companies

Category:American computer businesspeople