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David Krane is in an enviable position . As the CEO of GV , the speculation firm that is funded alone by Google to the tune of $ 1 billion a year , his squad of roughly 100 start out to make a lot of wager — with just a yoke of notable restrictions .
During a TechCrunch StrictlyVC eventin San Francisco earlier this calendar month , Krane enunciate GV has made a sensational 800 investment across the last five years and shelled out more than $ 10 billion across its 15 - year account .
None has received as much in one shot as Uber , whose$258 millionSeries C round was funded solely by GV way back in 2013 . Still , GV still blend big at times , for example , plug $ 140 million into the data infrastructure startup Cribl back in August as part of a$319 millionSeries eastward round .
In fact , because GV invests purely for financial returns , Krane says , there are few limitations on how it can operate . To escort , that has meant that GV has mostly commit in the U.S. , with roughly half a billion invested in its secondly - biggest market , Europe . That has meant splitting half its time focused on living sciences , health care , and biotechnology , and the other one-half on an all - encompassing “ digital ” family .
That level of autonomy has also meant not having to navigate around a red cable that separates what GV can fund from what Alphabet ’s growth - stage outfit , CapitalG , can fund .
Asked if the two groups ever throw elbows to get into a mountain or a bigger part of a company — both teams are investor in Stripe , Cribl , and some other outfits — Krane swarm cold water on the suggestion , enjoin that because “ we ’re funded by the same rootage , ” the “ clandestine there is to pass well . ”
Indeed , one of the only apparent no - nos is actively entice gift at heart of Google to start a company so that GV can be the first to fund it .
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We postulate while talking about members of Google ’s AI - driven note of hand - pickings creature NotebookLM , who recently left to start their own company , news of which TechCrunch erupt on the twenty-four hour period of our sit - down with Krane . When we wondered out loud whether GV might fund them , Krane said : “ We have it off some of the people on the NotebookLM team , for indisputable , and we did have intercourse about this team that was whirl out . ”
“ now and then , there are teams that will leave Google , that will pursue a inauguration , and GV will see it , and GV will get take , ” he added . But he said that “ … We have n’t set up a giant suck vacuum to boost people to leave Alphabet and quest after startups , but it does happen . There ’s a massively telling diaspora of multitude that have spend metre in parts of Alphabet that are now doing startups , and many of them are in our networks and we fund some of them . ”
Asked how Google feels about GV writing a big check to citizenry on their way out the room access — it keep them close to the mothership , after all , but can also further them to try their luck — Krane keep on : “ Yeah , I think that ’s on the button right . The end is to stay at Google if you ’re at Google and build transformational products . ” But “ some hoi polloi do n’t persist eternally , “ he said . “ That ’s a fact of life . Some citizenry leave . Some citizenry follow up on startups , and then we may show up in that conversation . ”
To find out more , you canlistento that full interview .
Update : This story originally proposed that GV also avoids investing in direct competitors to Google , like OpenAI ; the outfit reached out to clear up that GV does invest in inauguration that compete like a shot with some part of Google .
