# James Lu

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{{Short description|American Internet entrepreneur}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = James F Lu
| image              = EE4ICII2L5IBRZAVCG6HEKBITM.jpg
| caption            = Lu at Asian Leadership Conference 2019
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| known_for          = Founding Team of [Chegg](/source/Chegg) <br /> Chairman of [Grindr](/source/Grindr) <br /> Chairman of [Joffre Capital](/source/Joffre_Capital)
| education          = [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan) <br /> [Bachelor of Science](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) <br />[Master of Science](/source/Master_of_Science)
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| website            = {{URL|www.jamesflu.com}}
}}
'''James Fu Bin Lu'''<ref>{{cite news|title=Baidu bids goodbye to VP James Lu, latest in string of executive losses|date=May 31, 2017|access-date=March 6, 2020|url=https://techwireasia.com/2017/05/baidu-bids-goodbye-vp-james-lu-latest-string-executive-losses/|publisher=Tech Wire Asia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=陆复斌成百度贴吧新掌门 曾是NASA软件工程师|date=June 25, 2015|access-date=March 6, 2020|url=http://people.techweb.com.cn/2015-06-25/2167836.shtml|publisher=techweb.com.cn}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=陆复斌成百度贴吧新掌门 曾是NASA软件工程师|date=June 25, 2015|access-date=March 6, 2020|url=https://tech.qq.com/a/20150625/040968.htm|publisher=Tencent Technology News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=바이두 前 부사장 "열정보다 성장잠재력이 성공 키워드"|url=https://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2019/05/15/2019051503022.html|date=May 15, 2019|access-date=March 6, 2020|author=Ahn Sang-hee|publisher=[Chosun Ilbo](/source/Chosun_Ilbo)}}</ref> is an American Internet entrepreneur. He has been a serial entrepreneur and senior corporate executive in [Amazon](/source/Amazon_(company)) and [Baidu](/source/Baidu). He has been the chairman of [Grindr](/source/Grindr) since 2020 and is a major investor in a number of high-profile technology companies globally.

==Biography==

Lu received master's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan) (graduating ''summa cum laude'') and worked as an engineer for [NASA](/source/NASA)'s [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](/source/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory), developing software for the Mars rover.

Lu was a founder of textbook rental company [Chegg](/source/Chegg) and social network Yoolin, serving as its CEO. Yoolin was acquired by zhanzuo.com in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title=Roundup|date=August 6, 2007|url=https://venturebeat.com/2007/08/06/roundup-six-aparts-memo-vcs-and-sex-toys-wimax-in-2008-newsercom-more/|access-date=March 6, 2020|publisher=[VentureBeat](/source/VentureBeat)}}</ref>

After serving as the Global Head of Amazon Marketing Services (now known as Amazon Advertising), Lu was hired in June, 2015 by [Baidu](/source/Baidu) as vice president of content ecosystems. Lu left Baidu in 2017.

In late 2015, Lu drove a $88M USD investment into [Kuaishou](/source/Kuaishou) at $2.1B valuation and sat on the board of the company. In 2021, [Kuaishou](/source/Kuaishou) went public in HK Stock Exchange and the investment delivered $4.9B in profit (approximately 56 times return).<ref>{{cite news|title=快手融资故事：还原 2021 年中国互联网第一场资本盛宴|date=Feb 10, 2021|url=https://www.latepost.com/news/dj_detail?id=524|newspaper=晚点Late Post}}</ref>

In 2020, Lu was a lead investor in the over $600 million acquisition of [Grindr](/source/Grindr) from Beijing Kunlun Tech Co.<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. Approves Sale of Dating App Whose Owners Were Probed by National Security Officials|first=Katy|last=Stech Ferek|date=May 29, 2020|access-date=August 8, 2020|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-approves-sale-of-chinese-dating-app-probed-by-national-security-officials-11590782922|newspaper=[Wall Street Journal](/source/Wall_Street_Journal)}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Grindr's Chinese Owner Sells Gay Dating App Over U.S. Privacy Concerns For $600 Million|first=Kori|last=Hale|date=March 26, 2020|access-date=August 8, 2020|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/korihale/2020/03/26/grindrs-chinese-owner-sells-gay-dating-app-over-us-privacy-concerns-for-600-million/|work=[Forbes](/source/Forbes)}}</ref>  This transaction came about as a result of the decision by [CFIUS](/source/CFIUS) to compel the owner of Grindr, a Shenzhen-listed Chinese company, to sell the company to US interests.<ref>{{cite news|title=Why is the U.S. forcing a Chinese company to sell the gay dating app Grindr?|date = April 3, 2019|access-date=August 8, 2020|first1=Sarah|last1=Bauerle Danzman|first2=Geoffrey|last2=Gertz|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/03/why-is-us-is-forcing-chinese-company-sell-gay-dating-app-grindr/|newspaper=[Washington Post](/source/Washington_Post)}}</ref> In Nov 2022, the company went public in New York Stock Exchange. Lu's personal stake in the company is estimated to be worth $750m to 1.5B.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tognini |first=Giacomo |title=Grindr Stock Skyrockets After SPAC Merger, Minting At Least One Billionaire |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2022/11/18/grindr-stock-skyrockets-after-spac-merger-minting-at-least-one-billionaire/ |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

In 2021, Lu led a controlling acquisition of [Investing.com](/source/Investing.com) from its founder and served as a director of the board.<ref>{{cite news|title=East Asian fund buys Investing.com for $500m|date=April 22, 2021|url=https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-east-asian-fund-buys-investingcom-for-500m-1001368502|newspaper= Globes, Israel business news}}</ref> In July 2024, Lu stepped up and took the role of Executive Chairman of the company overseeing all parts of the business.

In Feb 2022, Lu was the leading investor in the acquisition of Coins.ph from [GoTo](/source/GoTo_(Indonesian_company)) and serving as a board member.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-12 |title=Joffre Capital finalizes acquisition of Coins.ph |url=https://manilastandard.net/business/it-telecom/314221309/joffre-capital-finalizes-acquisition-of-coins-ph.html |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=Manila Standard |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, James}}
Category:21st-century American businesspeople
Category:Living people
Category:University of Michigan alumni
Category:American chief executives
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Lu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lu) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lu?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.