Acer Chairman and CEO Stan Shih, who co-founded the $13 billion Taiwanese computer giant 27 years ago, is preparing to spin off a venture capital business when he steps down at the end of 2004. Shih said he has been preparing for the succession for more than 10 years. Acer President J.T. Wang, who is already overseeing day-to-day operations, is slated to take over the chairman and CEO post.

"We have done an exceptionally good job on the succession plan, especially for a Chinese company," said Shih, adding that Wang has done an outstanding job re-engineering Acer.

Shih is preparing to start Dragon Soft Capital, a venture capital fund that will provide consulting services including post-incubation and re-engineering services. Shih said Dragon Soft Capital will have two funds--a post-incubation fund of $60 million and an IP Fund 2 of $60 million.

Shih said the two funds will be focused on investing in the next phase of the technology business with a heavy focus on applications and services.

Shih, who started the first venture capital fund in Taiwan in 1984, has led the charge on a number of funds, including $14 million and $60 million funds in 1997 and a $60 million fund in 2000.

Shih said he has worked with Wang to move Acer from a technology-centric company to a more customer-centric company with services and software. He said he has more than a year to make adjustments if necessary to the business model with Wang.