Google Venture to Find the Next Facebook

For technology start-ups in the capital markets ushered in a decade the most beautiful moments, and even Google has started to play the role of venture capitalists, trying to find the next Facebook or Zynga.

In addition to Google and other leading technology companies are not far behind, and now the total investment from the business risk approach during the Internet bubble in 2000 level. For some people, this is the technology industry, signs of overheating, which means some companies may make irrational investment decisions. However, Google believes that the company has the right investments to guide their choice of weapons - Google-style secret, that the use of formulas based on data analysis of Internet computing industry, "the next big event."

In view of the Internet such as Facebook and Zynga upstart established soon, so there is little data are available, most venture capitalists believe that the investment is not so much a science it is more an art, but Google do not mind, in them, even the arts can be quantified.

Google's venture capital arm of Google Ventures partner Bill Maris (Bill Maris): "invest like you are sitting on the pitch-dark room, trying to find a way out. If you happen to him with a match, you should point forward. "According to the National Venture Capital Association (National Venture Capital Association) statistics, in the first quarter of start-up companies from the corporate risk departments have a total of $ 583 million of financing in 2010, compared to $ 443 million in 2009 compared to $ 245 million .

Today, 10 percent of the venture funds are from the company, close to the 2000 Internet bubble period of the previous level of 15%. Facebook, Zynga and Amazon are investing in social media industry, entrepreneurial companies. America Online's AOL Ventures venture capital sector after three attempts at re-established after last year, Intel Capital (Intel Capital) investment this year is expected to exceed last year's $ 327 million.

Google algorithm challenged

Google Ventures, said the company's investment in the first quarter of last year, equivalent to the amount of investment. This spring as the CEO of Google co-founder Larry Page (Larry Page) commitment to continue to maintain this momentum. Corporate venture capital sector in the economic boom time before the arrival of all actions, such as the 20th century, early 80's and the late 1990s, but the results varied.

Taught at Stanford University's Andrew Rudge Leaf (Andrew S. Rachleff) said: "When corporate venture capital departments were also involved, this often means we are in the most glorious period of the market." Laatsch Leaf or VCs Benchmark Capital founder, Google relies on his investment in the practice of computing formula skeptical. He said: "When you are creating a new market assessment of a new company, no analysis can be done, because there is no analysis of the market for you to rely on their own sense of things."

Although Maris is the venture capital compared to the "lottery", but Google says it believes that its calculation formula that can work. At the same time, Google is taking extraordinary measures to its investment in start-up companies provide engineering, recruitment and business advice, while at the Google headquarters office space.

Page also committed to ensure that Google Ventures holds $ 200 million this year, investment funds, in view of Google and the venture company's roots, as long as the appropriate investment objectives, there will be "unlimited" funds as a backing. Maris said: "I have talked with Larry, he had said, 'do everything we can to create as large as possible as quickly as possible start-up companies with disruptive,'" Page, declined comment.