[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4cast #420: Google Ventures in health tech

Wed Jan 14 10:30:23 EST 2015

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4cast #420: Google Ventures in health tech
January 14th, 2015

Google Ventures logoThere's an old saying: "Follow the money." At the 
end of 2014, a lot of people were following the money invested by Google 
Ventures, an independent venture capital arm of Google, to try to spot 
future trends. The firm has been investing in startup companies since 
2009, and currently manages about $1.5 billion in such investments. 
Apparently Google Ventures expects health technology to be the next big 
thing, because their investments shifted decisively in that direction in 
2014. Bill Maris, the president of Google Ventures, gave quite a few 
interviews after that information was released and shared some 
interesting thoughts, some of them quoted below.

  * Google Ventures shifts focus to health care
    <http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/12/15/google-ventures-shifts-focus-to-healthcare/>
    (Wall Street Journal Digits blog | Alistair Barr) "In the last three
    years, consumer startups went from Google Ventures' top sector to
    one of the firm's least favorite. Health and life-sciences companies
    received the smallest share in 2012 and the largest this year. Over
    that period, other venture investors maintained steady interest in
    these sectors. About 20% of VC money flowed to consumer-services
    companies, a similar share to health care startups, in the U.S. in
    each of the past three years according to Dow Jones VentureSource."
  * For Google Ventures, 2014 yielded 16 exits and a strong focus on
    life sciences and health tech
    <http://venturebeat.com/2014/12/15/for-google-ventures-2014-yielded-16-exits-and-a-strong-focus-on-life-sciences-and-health-tech/>
    (VentureBeat | Kia Kokalitcheva) "Among the year's standout
    investments, Maris is particularly excited about Flatiron Health and
    One Medical. Flatiron Health, in which Google Ventures invested one
    of its biggest sums at $130 million
    <http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/07/watch-out-cancer-big-data-is-coming-for-you/>,
    gathers and analyzes huge amounts of oncology data to help doctors
    better treat cancer patients. 'One in five patients in the U.S. are
    part of the Flatiron network and they don't even know it,' Maris
    said. One Medical, a popular alternative to traditional doctors'
    offices (and all the pain and hassle they entail), is a reimagining
    of the patient experience given today's technology, as Maris
    describes it."
  * Google Ventures, Microsoft and Vice does deals
    <http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-12-16/benner-on-tech-google-ventures-microsoft-and-vice-does-deals>
    (Bloomberg View | Katie Brenner) [Maris interview response] "Right
    now life sciences companies are becoming IT companies. And you can
    have a consumer Internet company that has no revenue, that just has
    users paying nothing for a product. And investors see that product
    as valuable because it attracts users. They know that ultimately
    someone will pay. We should think about life sciences startups in
    the same way. Some of our life sciences companies are building
    important tech that's useful to lots of people. They should be
    valued the same way that tech companies are valued."
  * The man investing Google's billions says we shouldn't be afraid to
    live forever
    <http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/16/7402411/google-ventures-2014-bill-maris-life-science>
    (The Verge | Ben Popper) [Maris interview response] "The
    acceleration we saw in computers from 1960 until now is an
    acceleration we're going to see in the life sciences, and that's why
    it's a huge opportunity. And not just for making money. You make a
    great investment in the consumer internet, maybe you make a lot of
    money and create something useful, interesting, or fun. But in life
    sciences you have a chance to be part of something that lets people
    live longer and healthier and not lose the people they care about.
    That is really profound."

*/Articles from Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:/*

  * Google could be your VC.
    <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=37a5a584-e3df-4e5e-8f97-7074978ac234%40sessionmgr111&vid=0&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=sch&AN=47106357>
    (/Entrepreneur/, Aug. 2009, p36 | Pieter van Noordennen)
  * Can technology fix medicine?
    <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=3f5b20e9-e3a5-447d-8c02-00439bd4a1e1%40sessionmgr111&vid=0&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=sch&AN=97765985>
    (/Technology Review/, Sep./Oct. 2014, p65-66 | Nanette Byrnes)
  * Venture capital firms and incubators.
    <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=eb83b52d-ced9-419e-92ca-04d6803b4f19%40sessionmgr114&vid=0&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=99206632>
    (/Research Technology Management/, Nov./Dec. 2014, p40-44 | Howard
    Morgan)

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