The corporate venturing unit of US-listed search engine provider Google has said it could invest in as many as 50 seed deals this year even as it prepares to integrate its largest acquisition in Motorola Mobility, a US-based mobile phone maker.
In recent weeks a focus on early stage investing has seen Google Ventures back early stage companies including US-based mobile application developer Nettle, social gaming start-up Airy Labs, social network Just.me, US-based mobile voucher company ThinkNear and Astrid, which offers users on-line to do lists.
David Krane, a Google Ventures partner, said: "In recent months, we have certainly stepped up our pace of seed investing, and expect to continue to do so over time. It is not unreasonable to imagine that we might do 40 to 50 seed deals in 2011."
Krane said the company was investing heavily because there were many investment options in early-stage companies available to the search engine. He said: "The opportunity is there. There are many compelling ideas, excellent teams, and diverse opportunities (we are seeing great early-stage/seed dealflow across a wide range of sectors, not just consumer internet, for example).
"Google Ventures is also able to bring forward a number of meaningful operational resources to help accelerate these companies — everything from free office space via the Google Ventures Startup Lab, to a wide range of classes taught as part of the Google Ventures Startup University curriculum, to assistance with technical recruiting, marketing and more."
Google Ventures has been expanding its team to help with these operational requirements, having hired Laura Melahn as head of marketing earlier this year.
Many large corporations eschew early stage deals because their small size means it is very difficult for investment success to have an impact on a multi-billion dollar corporate’s balance sheet but the increased investment pace by Google Ventures is part of an attempted reinvigoration of the company’s entrepreneurial spirit under Larry Page, Google’s co-founder with Sergey Brin. Page stepped into the role of chief executive in April.
The support for start-ups will also help Google’s launch of Google+, its rival to social network Facebook, but comes against the management focus on integrating Motorola Mobility, assuming the $12.5bn purchase is completed. The corporate venturing unit at Motorola Mobility Ventures said it was too early to tell whether it would be integrated into Google Ventures.
Motorola Mobility was de-merged from its corporation-focused peer Motorola Solutions in January with the venturing team separated at that point and deals broadly divided. Wallace Pai heads up Motorola Mobility Ventures.