Tencent Holdings, China's most valuable Internet company, said on Wednesday it has invested into a fund that will support early-stage Chinese Internet firms.

Tencent, which runs China's largest instant-messaging platform and is the country's largest operator of online games, will invest in a yuan fund started by Innovation Works, an incubation fund founded by Google China's former head Kai-Fu Lee.

The yuan fund aims to have a total capital commitment of 700 million yuan ($108 million) to support the companies under incubation at Innovation Works and other Internet start-ups.

Tencent and Innovation Works will collaborate to provide an open and supportive environment for Internet startups to foster growth and creative development, Martin Lau, president of Tencent, said in a statement.

Since its establishment in September 2009, Innovation Works has incubated 35 projects, with more than 200 million yuan in investments in total.

($1 = 6.482 yuan)

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

China