Google is continuing to push out its venture capital fund with the announcment it plans to add a $100 million capital fund for European startups to help boost technology development in the European market. The new fund will be based in London and will be part of Google Ventures.
Observers see the move as a positive step toward the continued development and progress of the European technology market, which has seen many of its best and brightest move to Silicon Valley to attract funding for their products and ideas. Now, they won't have to, with Google hoping to keep a large number of the companies in Europe where they already have a base.
"We've seen compelling new companies emerge from places like London, Paris, Berlin, the Nordic region and beyond -- SoundCloud, Spotify, Supercell and many others," Bill Maris, managing partner of Google Ventures, said in a blog post.
The announcement comes as Google has already put forward more than a dozen new deals this year alone, deals which have seen the company add artificial intelligence, connected devices, advertising and wireless technology to its plethora of investments.
What Google does is deliver funds to the ventures wing, which then makes investments in startups. A key company that was part of Google Ventures was Nest, which Google purchased this year for $3.2 billion. As the adage says, get funded and then get purchased. Google Ventures has been a leading source of investment for many startups and notes it is working with 250 portfolio companies.
Google has also been pushing into the European market of late. The search company has some 21 offices across Europe and a massive Google Campus in London where startups have access to mentoring and office space. In June, Google revealed plans to open a similar large campus in Warsaw for the central and eastern European market.
Overall, Google has been a leader in seeding smaller companies who need that extra push to get to where they need to be. This additional rollout of funding to the European continent should help increase interest in technology and drive smaller companies into the forefront of their specific sectors.
