Google Ventures strengthens AI and Open Source focus with new partner hire

Venture capital firm GV, backed by Google's parent company Alphabet Inc, announced the appointment of Michael McBride, former chief revenue officer at GitLab, to bolster its investment portfolio in open-source and AI startups.

McBride, who played a pivotal role at GitLab, an open-source developer tools company that went public in late 2021, brings a wealth of experience to GV. He expressed a commitment to concentrating on early-stage startups targeting enterprise customers, particularly those leveraging open-source and AI-driven approaches.

"I've learned a lot about how open source can give startup and growth companies a big advantage. I think it's going to be a powerful business model in AI," McBride commented, emphasising the significance of startups built on free open-source technology investing in both the open-source community and revenue-generating aspects.

While venture capital funding has faced headwinds due to interest rate hikes and valuation adjustments, GV has defied the trend, completing 125 investments this year, maintaining an average annual investment of $1 billion since 2020.

GV, known for its early-stage investments and having supported industry giants like Uber and Slack, made unique forays into the public market this year. The firm acquired stock shares of its portfolio companies, including GitLab and Verve Therapeutics.

"We're long-term investors and we have this flexibility to invest at any stage throughout a company's life, even after their IPO. We're unconstrained and we think of ourselves as aligning with what the very best founders need," explained Dave Munichiello, a partner at GV.

Originally launched as Google Ventures in 2009, GV now manages $8 billion in assets under Alphabet, its sole limited partner. The 35-person investment team at GV is divided between life science and digital focus, covering enterprise, consumer, and frontier tech in North America and Europe.

(With Reuters inputs.)