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Two years ago, lifeWill even artists someday find their jobs taken over by automation?. Read more ... »scienceNew €100 Million Fund Considering Blockchain Startups. Read more ... » startups were only six percent of the GoogleWill even artists someday find their jobs taken over by automation?. Read more ... » Ventures portfolio.
As 2015 draws to a close, that industry now is nearly one third of Google Ventures investments and is only going to grow larger, says the president and CEO of Google’s venture arm, Bill Maris.
”The technologyToyota to pour $1bn into robotics research in US. Read more ... » is moving quickly for the benefit of a lot of patients, which is the most exciting part of this. I think it’s an area of huge potential innovation and a lot of excitement,” Maris said. “We’ve had success here in the past, and for me, it’s personally one of the most gratifying areas to invest capital in.”
Maris entered 2015 concerned about the “frothy” funding environmentMicrosoft Invests $1 Billion In 'Holistic' Security Strategy. Read more ... » for startups. Money was flowing freely, and Maris was worried that the ever-increasing deal price would price the firm out of companiesThe 80-hour work week doesn't truly work. Read more ... ».
It turned out not to be the caseWill even artists someday find their jobs taken over by automation?. Read more ... », although looking to 2016, there’s already signs that the funding environment is going to be interesting.
If you asked Maris five years ago if he would be investing in a gene-editing startup, he would’ve laughed. The CRISPR technology had only been shown to work on human cells in 2012.
Now, the bio tech and life sciences fieldToyota to pour $1bn into robotics research in US. Read more ... » made up 31 percent of Google Ventures investments. Consumer and enterprise startups were trailing at 24 percent and 23 percent, respectively. However, that doesn’t correlate to the pitches they see in each area.
“On the life science side, there’s a lot fewer companies being started because you can start an app company in your garage and in 18 months, reach a billion people and be a billionaire,” Maris said. “You can’t really do that yet in the life sciences. It’s more traditional and a little bit of a slower process.”
By the time a biotech company gets in front of the team, they have a higher success of a pitch rate because it’s a relationshipFormer corporates pioneer the new breed of start-ups. Read more ... » that’s been developed over years, rather than an app that’s gone viral overnight, Maris explains. The numberNew €100 Million Fund Considering Blockchain Startups. Read more ... » of companies — and investments — will only go up, Maris predicts.
While Maris has a pipeline of companies coming into the life sciences category, there’s a new emergingSeries for driverless cars to support Formula E events in future. Read more ... » area that’s also snagged his interest.
“MachineWill even artists someday find their jobs taken over by automation?. Read more ... »learningThe 80-hour work week doesn't truly work. Read more ... », deepWill even artists someday find their jobs taken over by automation?. Read more ... » learning, AIToyota to pour $1bn into robotics research in US. Read more ... », whatever you want to call it — It’s a transformational area that is underlying a lot of the technology in companies,” he said.
The firm has invested in dataToyota to pour $1bn into robotics research in US. Read more ... » startups in the past, but had lumped them into the category with enterprise. The firm decided to make it its own category because it’s increasingly becoming the foundation for many companies, says Maris.
But, it’s still an area that’s really earlyThe 80-hour work week doesn't truly work. Read more ... » and requires deep technical knowledgeThe next wave of disruption: super-smart cities 2020. Read more ... » unlike the consumer app side. There’s not a long list of companies that his firm has passed on and regrets, rather they’re still looking, Maris says.
“We don’t have any fundamental marquee investments that I can point to and say ‘this is our leading AI company’ but I think in the next 12 to 14 months we can find a company like that, like Deep MindHow Google Aims To Dominate Artificial Intelligence. Read more ... », which Google acquired,” he said.
While life sciences is an explicit area where Google Ventures wants to invest more cash, Maris won’t commit to artificialWill even artists someday find their jobs taken over by automation?. Read more ... »intelligenceWill even artists someday find their jobs taken over by automation?. Read more ... » quite yet.
“It’s hard to say if we’re going to be investing tens or hundreds of millions. That’s not as important as finding the key companies,” Maris said. “It may be a smaller volume, or even a smaller number of dollars, but I don’t really know. We don’t have the pipeline of companies that matches the life sciences yet.”