In recent years, Google has been investing heavily in unknown startup companies hoping they become successful – and most of them have been. But now, the world’s favorite search engine has decided to shift their attention on companies that are already on the ground running but need a little help. With today’s official launch of Google Capital – a growth-stage equity fund – Google will be focusing some attention on the most promising companies of tomorrow.
The new fund will be led by partners David Lawe, Scott Tierney and Gene Frantz as they search for growth-stage companies across a broad range of industries. Google has committed themselves to investing in companies that are seeking new advancements in technology and have so far backed SurveyMonkey, Lending Club and Renaissance Learning. The fund has also shown interest in many more companies and is ready to help them expand their business in big ways.
Google’s other investment fund, Google Ventures, has funded over 200 startups since 2009 and has also purchased some of these smaller companies. Most recently, Google purchased Nest, a home automation company, for $3 billion. Unlike Google Ventures which is focused on early-stage investments, Google Capital will be investing in companies as they hit their critical growth phase. Companies that have built a solid foundation will be able to fund their business with Google’s backing and reach a much wider audience.
According to partner David Lawee, Google Capital is not merely a “monetary investment”. They have been building a strong portfolio over the past 15 years and strive to be product leaders at the forefront of technology. Funding these growth-phase companies hasn’t yet proved to be successful for Google but they are still in their early stages. It will be exciting to see what happens to these companies in the next couple of years and how much more powerful Google can be.
Google has been criticized by a lot of people for having too much power and have even been likened to Terminator’s “Skynet” whose ultimate goal is the extermination of the human race. Although Google’s global domination can’t be denied, it’s hard not to admire a company that was started in a garage by two students and has managed to become a multinational corporation worth over $60 billion. Google Capital only solidifies the company’s role in determining which technologies will be a part of this planet’s foreseeable future.
