Google officially launches Google Capital equity fund for growth-stage investments

After first announcing its new equity fund for growth-stage companies, Google is officially launching its “Google Capital” today with an announcement on its blog. Google says the fund will “focus on emerging, long-term technology trends” and the companies it’s invested in so far range from companies in the education space to personal loans and a survey platform. Google took some time to explain how Google Capital will differ from its Google Ventures investment arm:

Like our colleagues at Google Ventures, our goal is to invest in the most promising companies of tomorrow, with one important difference. While Google Ventures focuses mainly on early-stage investments, we’ll be looking to invest in companies solely as they hit their growth phase. That means finding companies that have already built a solid foundation and are really ready to expand their business in big ways. We’ll look across a range of industries for companies with new technologies and proven track records in their fields.

Google notes that the fund has already invested in a few companies including SurveyMonkey and Lending Club, as well as Renaissance Learning, which Bloomberg reports Google is putting around $40 million into. 

Bloomberg adds that Google Capital is starting out with around $300 million in capital and is planning on completing upwards of 5 deals with companies not yet announced. Google has a website for Google Capital here, which goes over some of the goal of the fund and introduces us to key members of the team including former Google Vice President of Corporate Development David Lawee and partners Gene Frantz and Scott Tierney.