Google Ventures announced in a tweet yesterday it has increased its fund by 50 percent to $300 million a year and plans to invest $1.5 billion in startups through 2017.
The $100 million annual bump in its fund will give Google Ventures the opportunity to not just invest in more startups, but help grow companies in its existing portfolio and even go after later-stage deals, which typically require more capital.
Google Ventures has tended to invest in early-stage companies, which require less capital, have a greater potential for return as well as much higher risk.
Increasing the fund been part of an “ongoing conversation,” Google Ventures Managing Partner Bill Maris (pictured) told the WSJ. But when it actually came down to making a decision, it took less than 30 minutes, Maris said.
Google Ventures has been in an investing kind of mood in recent months. The venture capital arm of search engine giant Google completed more deals than its investing brethren in the third quarter.
As I noted last month, Google Venture’s activity in the third quarter was in direct contrast with the rest of the venture community. Venture capitalists had 9 percent fewer deals and invested 32 percent less money ($6.92 billion, in all) from the same quarter last year, according to data from Dow Jones VentureSource.
To date, Google has invested $300 million into more than 130 companies.
Photo: Google Ventures
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