Internet advertising giant Google has announced the creation of a technology investment fund that will find struggling start-ups and help them access new technology.
Google Ventures, the company’s new technology investment fund, will provide “early stage investments” to companies developing products in sectors such as consumer internet services, “green” technology and healthcare.
Managing partners at the new Google Ventures branch, Rich Miner and Bill Maris, wrote in a company blog post that entrepreneurs with good ideas should seek to have them funded by Google.
“This is Google’s effort to take advantage of our resources to support innovation and encourage promising new technology companies,” they wrote.
“By borrowing the best practices of top-tier, financially focused venture capital firms and bringing to bear Google’s unique technical expertise and brand, we think we can find young companies with truly awesome potential and encourage their development into successful businesses.”
The two also said that the company will use employees, as well as financial and technological resources, for recommendations of good investments.
“Economically, times are tough, but great ideas come when they will. 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,” the two said.
Start-ups have been encouraged to apply for funding through the branch’s site, but the company warns it may not be available to reply to all requests.
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Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
