Move over bankers
The failure of the mainstream financial services sector seems to have opened the door to a new type of venture capitalist - the technology company.
Intel has been doing this sort of thing for a while and it was joined by NVIDIA earlier this month. Now Google, which even in this recession must have a few spare dollars looking for a home, has launched Google Ventures.
"If anything, we think the current downturn is an ideal time to invest in nascent companies that have the chance to be the ‘next big thing', and we'll be working hard to find them," said a Google blog, posted by Rich Miner and Bill Maris, the managing partners of Google Ventures.
In the Google Ventures FAQ the types of companies Google is interested are listed as: "startups in industries including consumer Internet, software, hardware, clean-tech, bio-tech, health care and others.
"First and foremost, we're looking for entrepreneurs who are tackling problems in creative and innovative ways. As a venture fund, however, we're also looking for investments with the potential for significant financial return," it concedes, revealing it is prepared to invest tens of millions of dollars if required.
