US-based internet technology provider Google launched a new corporate venturing fund called Gradient Ventures yesterday that will focus on artificial intelligence technology startups.
Gradient does not have a precise fund size yet, and managing partner Anna Patterson told TechCrunch it will instead invest directly from Google’s balance sheet, and that it has the flexibility to pursue follow-on investments when it wishes.
The unit intends to invest in 10 to 15 startups in 2017, Patterson told CNBC, adding that it will typically provide between $1m and $8m for each deal.
Patterson, a vice-president of engineering at Google since 2010, said in a blog post announcing the launch: “Through Gradient, we will provide portfolio companies with capital, resources, and dedicated access to experts and bootcamps in AI. We will take a minority stake in the startups in which we invest.
“Many members of our team are engineers, so we are familiar with the journey from big idea to product launch. The goal is to help our portfolio companies overcome engineering challenges to create products that will apply artificial intelligence to today’s challenges and those we will face in the future.”
Gradient’s first two portfolio companies are Algorithmia, the US-based creator of an algorithm network for app developers, and Cogniac, a US-based startup developing technology that will help enterprise customers extract meaning from video and image data.
The fund led Algorithmia’s $10.5m series A round last month, investing alongside corporate venturing unit Rakuten Ventures, Madrona Venture Group, Osage University Partners and Work-Bench.
The establishment of Gradient makes it the first fund to be officially formed by Google since it split from Google Ventures and Google Capital – now respectively known as GV and CapitalG – as part of a restructuring in August 2015 that involved all three becoming subsidiaries of umbrella company Alphabet.