SAN FRANCISCO — Here is how the venture capital game used to be played around here:
A friend calls a friend who knows a guy. A meeting is taken. Wine is drunk (at, say, Madera lounge in Menlo Park). A business plan? Sure, whatever. But how does it feel?
This is decidedly not how Google, that apotheosis of our data-driven economy, wants to approach the high-stakes business of investing in the next, well, Google. Unlike venture capitalists of old, the company’s rising V.C. arm focuses not on the art of the deal, but on the science of the deal. First, data is collected, collated, analyzed. Only then does the money start to flow.
Google Ventures and its take on investing represent a new formula for the venture capital business, and skeptics say it will never capture the chemistry — or, perhaps, the magic — of Silicon Valley. Would computer algorithms have bankrolled David Packard or Steve Jobs? Foreseen the folly of Pets.com?
The data provides one answer to those questions, at least for now: Since its founding in 2009, Google Ventures has stood out in an industry that, for all its star power, has been dealing its investors a bad hand. In recent years, an investor would have done better with a ho-hum mutual fund that tracks the stock market than with some splashy V.C. fund. Venture capital funds posted an annual average return of 6.9 percent from 2002 to 2012, trailing major stock indexes, according to Cambridge Associates.
Google Ventures, like all venture funds, does not publicly reveal returns. But its partners can count on one hand the number of its 170 investments that have failed, though it is too early to know how many will succeed, and it has missed investing in some superstar companies. Its successes include companies that have gone public, like HomeAway for vacation rentals and Silver Spring Networks for smart grid software, and start-ups sold to Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Twitter.
Whether Big Data — that label for technology and decision-making that is upending so many businesses — can truly transform the industry that helped spawn it remains to be seen. Few deny that crunching data is increasingly important. But some insist that those old intangibles, like instinct and luck, are still paramount.
“V.C.’s, just like all of our portfolio companies, need to be analytically intuitive in the modern era of data analytics,” said Matt McIlwain, managing director of Madrona Venture Group, which has invested in companies like Amazon.com and Redfin, the real estate site. “But the intuition part is ultimately the biggest factor. And even with all that, a little good luck goes a long way.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Google Ventures
- Google Launches New AI Accelerator Program For Indian Entrepreneurson April 26, 2024 at 11:55 am
Interested startups can apply for the Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First program through the designated website. The program promises to provide valuable guidance, resources, and opportunities ...
- Google Opens Applications for 2024 Startups Accelerator Program in Indiaon April 26, 2024 at 8:15 am
Google has opened the application for 2024 startups accelerator program in India. Takeaway Points Google has opened the application for 2024 startups accelerator program in India. The program will be ...
- Google's 'fastest-growing' moonshot that spun out into an AI earbuds startup aims to ship its first product this yearon April 26, 2024 at 2:00 am
Google X's project Wolverine spun off into startup Iyo. It's working on an AI-powered hearing device.
- Alphabet Q1 results: Google parent company's revenue at $67.6 billion, beats estimateson April 25, 2024 at 7:35 pm
The Google parent generated sales, excluding partner payouts, of $67.6 billion for the three months that ended on March 31.
- Google breaks ground on fourth Dutch data center in Westpoorton April 25, 2024 at 5:45 am
Google has broken ground on a data center campus in Westpoort, Netherlands. In a LinkedIn post, Google’s senior operations manager Jayesh Desai confirmed that the construction of Google’s fourth Dutch ...
- Google invests in start-up developing ‘AI paralegal’on April 24, 2024 at 9:24 am
Google Ventures has backed Lawhive in a £9.5 million funding round, taking a stake in the British legal technology start-up developing an ‘AI paralegal’.
- Google invests £9.5 million in London law firm behind ‘AI paralegal’ which passed the SQEon April 18, 2024 at 12:47 am
The London law firm that created an ‘AI paralegal’ capable of passing part one of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) has received £9.5 million of investment from Google.
- Lawhive aims to triple in size after £9.5m Google funding booston April 16, 2024 at 4:07 pm
Consumer law platform Lawhive aims to triple the number of solicitors in its network to over 300 in only 12 months after raising £9.5m in its latest funding round, led by Google Ventures.
- Google Ventures Backs AI-Powered Legal Services Startup Lawhiveon April 15, 2024 at 2:01 pm
Alphabet Inc.'s Google Ventures led a nearly $12 million investment into Lawhive, the UK-based legal tech startup said Monday.
- Disinformation monitoring platform lands $20M led by Google Ventureson April 15, 2024 at 7:15 am
Alethea, a D.C.-based company that offers an AI-powered disinformation monitoring platform, said Tuesday it has raised $20 million in a Series B round led by Google Ventures. The company ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Google Ventures
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Google Ventures” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Venture capital game
- GEM Capital adds AppMagic, Mundfish, Pixonic CEOs as investment advisorson April 26, 2024 at 3:00 pm
GEM Capital announced its adding three new advisors to guide its investment strategy, all CEOs from the games industry.
- Animoca Brands-backed Chess Game, Anichess, Raises Funds Led by Sfermion and Amber Groupon April 26, 2024 at 3:31 am
The round was led by Sfermion and Amber Group, with participation from Fenbushi Capital, Aspen Digital, SNZ Capital, and others ...
- Panasonic’s game plan for startup; Norwest Venture Partners close fundon April 25, 2024 at 7:05 pm
Globally, Panasonic is focused on food infrastructure, commercial infrastructure, lifestyle, wellness, and sustainability.
- ByteDance Investors’ Waiting Gameon April 23, 2024 at 4:32 pm
Most venture capitalists often see themselves as long-term investors. Those who backed ByteDance, the world’s most valuable venture-backed company, have had plenty of opportunity to test that credo.
- The Complex Terrain of the Video Game Industry: Challenges and Opportunitieson April 22, 2024 at 4:59 pm
Lyman Thai, a San Francisco and Silicon Valley-based partner in the firm’s Transactions Practice Group and Venture & Growth Capital Team, is a keen observer of the video gaming industry and has ...
- Notable Capital's Hans Tung on the state of VC and the upside to down roundson April 20, 2024 at 7:30 am
To some investors, “down round” is a dirty phrase, but not to Notable Capital’s Hans Tung. Hans is a managing partner at Notable Capital, formerly GGV Capital, a venture firm focusing on investments ...
- The Venture Capitalists Who Like to Play Disasteron April 20, 2024 at 5:59 am
Two weeks ago, things turned dire in Hampton Roads, Va. A hurricane slammed into the main shipyard, one of the country’s most important naval bases, raising questions about the impact of climate ...
- Unicorns And Venture Capital: Captivating Mirages Or Essential Investments?on April 18, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Venture capital and private equity landscapes have long been enchanted by the allure of unicorns – those rare and mythical startups that soar to a valuation of $1 Bn or more. The journey from ...
- a16z raises $7.2B for venture strategies, pushes for AI and Web3 gamingon April 17, 2024 at 6:37 am
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has raised $7.2 billion for five of its venture strategies, as disclosed by Ben Horowitz in a blog post. The funds were raised for American Dynamism, Games, Apps, ...
- Tech Venture Capital Titan Andreessen Horowitz Raises $7.2 Bnon April 16, 2024 at 8:17 pm
Silicon Valley venture capital star Andreessen Horowitz said Tuesday it had raised $7.2 billion to invest in startups behind games, apps, artificial intelligence and more.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Venture capital game
[google_news title=”” keyword=”fix the internet” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]