Google Ventures has released its “Year In Review” for 2012, bringing together a number of stats which showcase the firm’s progress over the past twelve months. Many of the details shared have already been public for some time, including the fund’s growth to $300 million per year, but Google Ventures had never officially revealed where it invests by sector until today.
According an infographic posted by General Partner David Krane, Google Ventures has invested 32% of its funds in mobile, 31% in consumer Internet, 16% in commerce, 10% in big data, 6% in life science and 5% in energy. It’s noteworthy that these percentages show the breakdown of total investments through the end of 2012 — not just investments made during 2012.
The above stats reinforce Google Ventures’ commitment to consumer-facing products, as just 21% explore the (perhaps) less-commonly treaded tech startup paths of big data, energy and life science.
Managing Partner Bill Maris recently detailed his interest in “ideas that sound a little crazy, such as radical life extension, curing cancer, being able to create a simulation of the human brain and map every neuron.” Of course, this fund is also seeking to grow and make money in the near future, and thus, this breakdown makes perfect sense.
Google Ventures consists of a 60 person team of recruiters, engineers, designers, marketing specialists and general partners, and it certainly plays an interesting role at Google, as the fund continuously touts how it is largely separated from the rest of the company; this allows Google Ventures to not be influenced in its actions.
Funny enough, two of Google Ventures’ key exits this year, Milk and Buffer Box, were actually sold to Google.
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