GV, an early-stage investment arm of US-headquartered internet and technology group Alphabet, has strengthened its healthcare venture focus by promoting venture partner Ben Robbins to a general partner position.
Robbins joined GV in 2014, when it was still known as Google Ventures, and was at the time a student at both Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School. He later took four years of psychiatric training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Mclean Hospital while still working at the unit.
Although he has overseen more than 20 GV investments centred on healthcare delivery technology and also spanning hospital management, primary and palliative care, Robbins’ main focus is mental health, reflecting his background in psychiatry.
GV portfolio companies at which Robbins has held board seats or observer roles include Rodin Therapeutics, the neurological disease therapy developer bought for up to $950m in 2019, and care management services provider CareBridge, which raised money in June this year at a valuation above $1bn.
Robbins is one of 11 general partners at GV, a group that includes former physicians David Schenkein and Krishna Yeshwant, who jointly lead its life science investment team.
Yeshwant and Schenkein said in a joint statement: “What if we can find ways to reduce barriers to care through easier access to clinicians and creative delivery approaches that avoid stigma?
“We could help more people while removing excess costs from the system, and it’s a meaningful thesis. If we can partner with companies that help realise it, that will benefit patients, their providers and overall healthcare costs.
“The possibilities are endless, and we look forward to many years of working with Ben to tackle some of the hardest problems in healthcare today. We couldn’t be more excited to recognise Ben as GV’s newest general partner.”
