Shanda Group is a private investment firm founded in 1999 by Chairman and CEO Tianqiao Chen and co-founder Chrissy Luo. Shanda's business is segmented into three business units – Private Equity (venture capital) Investments, Public Market Investments and Real Estate. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California with offices in Hong Kong, New York, Shanghai and Singapore. Shanda was established in 1999 as an online games company, called Shanda Interactive Entertainment, which is credited for pioneering the freemium model. With successes in the online games and online literature businesses, Shanda Interactive spun off these businesses, beginning its transformation into a private investment company in 2012. Philanthropy is also at the core of Shanda's culture. Driven by a passion and curiosity regarding brain research, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen founded the "Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute" in 2016. See www.cheninstitute.org