Google Ventures has been around since 2009, and has managed huge amounts of capital and gotten Google in on the ground floor of more than a few profitable ventures, such as the recently sold Jet.com. Under founder Bill Maris, the firm has managed to get Google a ton of profitable investments and even some acquisitions over the years that have helped the tech giant build to where they are today. Coming in at the advent of Google’s newfound mega-popularity that came with the launch of Android, Google Ventures’ timing could not have been better, and the results, despite a few missteps, largely show as much.
With all that being the case, it may be a bit surprising that Maris has decided to make his exit from Google. Having been with the company for over half a decade now, Maris’ departure from the firm that he created is surrounded in ambiguity. Maris himself has made no effort to tell anybody what’s next for him, and sources close to him, who have said that his last day will be Friday, have also failed to mention any plans for the future. This comes on the heels of a similar departure by Chris Urmson, one of the founding fathers of Google’s self-driving car project, under similar circumstances. Like Maris, Urmson took his leave with little notice and didn’t say where he was planning on going.
Maris will be succeeded by a longtime manager of Google Ventures, David Krane. Krane’s track record includes a long period with Google as one of their first communication managers, quite some time before getting involved with Google Ventures. It is worth noting that Google Ventures was separate from the Google flagship, and wound up facing competition in its own specialty from both Google and another offshoot called Google Capital, which specialized in more established companies. This competition began quite some time ago, and while it could have brewed a bit of animosity, it’s quite unlikely to have had much, if anything to do with Maris’ departure. This event is just another in a series of mishaps and growing pains as Google transitions into their new identity as Alphabet.
Source : www.androidheadlines.com
