A New Hampshire-based biotech firm, Adimab, is among the first five tenants of the Startup Lab sponsored by Google’s new venture capital division. The Lab is the latest expansion of Google Ventures, a $100 million-a-year fund launched by Google in 2009.
Situated in a 15,000-square-foot facility on Google’s Mountain View, CA, campus, the Lab is designed to seed and support early stage tech start-ups, according to an article in the Huffington Post. The Lab gives talented entrepreneurs a place to brainstorm, bounce their ideas off of Google staffers, not to mention having access to a 1-gigabyte broadband network.
Startup Lab also gives entrepreneurs the instant cache of a Silicon Valley address and high profile supporter. “It’s the equivalent of a golden ticket at Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” said Tom Hale, the chief product officer of Austin-based HomeAway, which operates vacation rental sites such as VRBO.com and is funded by Google Ventures.
Google Ventures has grown from two to 20 staffers since 2009 and now has a team of experts to help its portfolio companies design their products. Like other seeding firms, it combines mentoring with early-stage funding. But unlike other firms, it comes with the hefty advantage of access to Google’s considerable resources.
It’s an important step for Google as the search firm faces greater competition from newer Internet rivals such as Facebook and Twitter. Google is no longer the nimble tech darling, now that it employs some 23,000 people worldwide. But by seeding and supporting tomorrow’s innovators, it may be able to continue its history of innovation.
What’s your take? Will Google’s Startup Lab become the new model for early-stage venture capital jobs and investing? Add your comments below.
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