China's Speech Pioneer To Head Microsoft Lab

November 09, 1998 (4:40 PM EST)

China's Speech Pioneer To Head Microsoft Lab

By Sunray Liu,

A Chinese pioneer in speech recognition will lead Microsoft's first Asian research laboratory.

Kai-Fu Lee, who is also widely known in Beijing for his work in artificial intelligence, 3-D graphics, and Internet multimedia, will head up Microsoft's research efforts covering machine speech, vision, graphics, natural language, and multimedia technologies.

Microsoft said it will invest $80 million over the next six years in its second overseas research facility. The software giant established its first overseas R&D lab in Cambridge, England, last year.

"China is the most populous country in the world, and the use of computers there is growing rapidly," Rick Rashid, vice president of Microsoft Research. "We need to address many challenges to adapt computing and software to the Chinese marketplace."

Microsoft Research China will work with the Chinese government, local universities, and research institutes in advancing China's emerging IT industry. Microsoft said it hopes to support Beijing's efforts to attract and retain research talent. The Center's five-person staff will eventually grow to 100.