NEW YORK (CNNMoney) <\/p>\n
Google (GOOG)'s VC investment arm is doubling down on life science and health service startups. This means everything from digitizing primary care (One Medical) to cloud-based genome data (DNA Nexus). It's the first year that the majority of the fund's investment dollars have been in this sector (36%), followed by mobile (27%) and consumer startups (8%, down from 66% in 2013). <\/p>\n
\"It's not surprising at all to me that we, as investors, are interested in [the space],\" said Bill Maris, managing partner at Google Ventures. \"36% of our dollars invested doesn't seem like a huge number. I feel like we could probably do more.\" <\/p>\n
It is, however, a significant increase. <\/p>\n
In both 2012 and 2013, funding for life sciences and health startups made up just 9% of their total. <\/p>\n
Google Ventures' portfolio includes companies like Nest (since acquired by Google), Blue Bottle Coffee Co., DocuSign, and, of course, infamous transportation disruptor Uber. <\/p>\n
Related: Google searching for cancer cure <\/p>\n
Overall VC funding mirrors this trend. According to data from PrivCo, funding to health care and life sciences startups jumped by nearly $8 billion from 2013 to 2014, capturing $20.7 billion. It's followed by commerce ($18.7 billion) and mobile ($13.9 billion). <\/p>\n
According to Maris, his firm placed a \"concerted effort\" on funding fledgling startups in the life sciences. (\"If we don't, who's going to?\" he said.) <\/p>\n
Maris -- who helped bring on genetics expert Andrew Conrad to head up Google X's Life Sciences team -- recalls getting criticized for their focus early on. <\/p>\n
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Google Ventures: less Ubers, more health care - Dec. 16, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Google (GOOG)'s VC investment arm is doubling down on life science and health service startups. This means everything from digitizing primary care (One Medical) to cloud-based genome data (DNA Nexus). Continue reading