Google (GOOG) Ventures To Bring More Partners Aboard

Google Inc's (NASDAQ: GOOG) venture capital arm, Google Ventures, is bringing more partners onboard as the $100 million fund seeks to build upon the eight investments it has made in companies since its launch last spring.

Managing Partner Bill Maris said the fund had quietly begun to bulk up its ranks and is in the process of refining an investment strategy that has seen Google Ventures back start-ups in markets as diverse as biotech, cleantech and consumer Internet technology. "There are full-time employees in the fund that aren't publicly disclosed right now that are recent hires," Maris told Reuters on Monday. The Google Ventures web site currently lists only Maris and Rich Miner as managing partners.

Miner told Reuters in a separate interview on Monday that he also sits on the boards of two other Google Ventures portfolio companies while Maris is a director at Adimab Inc, a biotech company that Google invested an undisclosed amount in, in October. Google, the world's No.1 Internet search company, launched its venture capital arm in March 2009, with the stated goal of seeking investment opportunities to maximize returns rather than looking for investments that strictly fit with Google's strategic vision.

Given its undisputed sway on the internet search market as well as being flush with funds, Google is making bold forays into other areas like launching its smartphones (Nexus One) as well as ramping up its venture capital arm Google Ventures. Only time will tell whether it will enjoy a dream run in these diverse fields too.