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Tag: Google Capital

  • Google Penalizes Site It Invests In

    Google Penalizes Site It Invests In

    Google has penalized a company that it backs financially in search results, by taking manual action on it for apparently violating its guidelines.

    Last year, Google launched Google Capital, a growth equity fund to fund growth-stage businesses. The eighth company it invested in was Thumbtack, a site that introduces people to “qualified professionals” in hundreds of categories to help them complete projects. Customers answer questions about their needs, and Thumbtack connects them with these professionals.

    Search Engine Land reports that it has confirmed with Thumbtack that it received a manual action for “unnatural links to your site,” and that it has seen a “huge decline” in Google referrals as a result, which has impacted the leads that the professionals in its network receive. The company also claims to have never paid for any links.

    Those who have analyzed the situation believe this solicitation for links (which someone shared in the Moz Q&A forum) might have something to do with it:

    As others have noted, this might fall into what Google considers a link scheme, which is against its guidelines.

    It has to be embarrassing for Google when it has to penalize a site that it is directly supporting. Still, it’s not as embarrassing as the time Google had to penalize its own Chrome site.

    Images via Thumbtack, Imgur

  • Google Capital Backs InnoLight, Its 9th Company

    Google Capital, along with Lightspeed China Partners, co-led a Series C round of funding totaling $38 million into InnoLight Technology, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

    This would be Google Capital’s first investment in China. InnoLight makes high-speed optical receivers used by computer servers.

    This marks the ninth investment by Google Capital, the growth-stage investment arm of Google announced back in February. Last month, Google announced it was leading a $100 million investment in Thumbtack.

    The Journal says, “Global investors are now vying for exposure to Chinese technology startups in the wake of e-commerce company Alibaba’s $25 billion initial public offering in the U.S. Competition for Chinese technology companies is even heating up among domestic strategic investors including Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent as they seek to acquire shares in smaller companies to supplement their own businesses.”

    I guess we shouldn’t be surprised if Google makes additional investments in the country.

    In addition to InnoLight and Thumbtack, Google Capital counts SurveyMonkey, LendingClub, Renaissance Learning, Auction.com, Credit Karma, Freshdesk, and MapR among its investments.

    Image via InnoLight

  • Google Capital Backs Thumbtack, Its 8th Company

    Google Capital is leading a $100 million series D round of funding in Thumbtack, a service that is described as helping people “accomplish the personal projects that are central to their lives”.

    Also contributing to the funding are past investors Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital, and Javelin Venture Partners. Thumbtack has raised a total of $150 million to date.

    What Thumbtack actually does is introduce people to “qualified professionals” in over 700 categories throughout the U.S. to help them complete projects. Customers answer questions about their needs, and Thumbtack connects them with these professionals within hours.

    “First and foremost, Thumbtack is a great product. As a consumer, it’s the best product I’ve ever used to hire local professionals. The bigger story, however, is the potential for small businesses: Thumbtack has a real opportunity to transform how local professionals find new customers,” said David Lawee, General Partner at Google Capital. “The Thumbtack team is highly impressive and the opportunity in front of them is enormous. We’re excited to be a part of it.”

    “We were already a strong and well capitalized business, but David and Google Capital offer something truly special, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with them,” said Thumbtack CEO Marco Zappacosta. “David brings years of experience working to help small businesses market themselves online, and the Google Capital financing and partnership allows us to think even bigger and further expand our business.”

    Thumbtack joins the following companies in Google Capital’s portfolio: SurveyMonkey, LendingClub, Renaissance Learning, Auction.com, Credit Karma, Freshdesk, and MapR.

    Image via Thumbtack

  • With Freshdesk, Google Capital Invests In Sixth Company

    Cloud-based customer support software maker Freshdesk announced today that it has secured a new $31 million round of funding led by Tiger Global, with backing from Accel Partners and Google Capital.

    That would make Freskdesk the sixth company to get backing from Google’s recently launched growth-stage investment arm.

    Google announced Google Capital in February with three companies already under its belt: SurveyMonkey, Lending Club and Renaissance Learning. In March, it added Auction.com and Credit Karma.

    “We’re proud to have the continued support of our existing investors, Accel and Tiger,” said Girish Mathrubootham, Founder and CEO. “And we’re absolutely thrilled to have Google Capital as part of this round. We will continue to focus on helping companies deliver great support to their customers.”

    “Customer support is undergoing a dramatic shift globally — fueled by the rise of cloud computing, subscription pricing, mobile devices and social media. Freshdesk has embraced and accelerated this shift, helping their clients provide great customer service,” saidGene Frantz, General Partner at Google Capital.

    Google has described Google Capital as a growth-stage business counterpart to Google Ventures, which launched five years ago.

    ““Like our colleagues at Google Ventures, our goal is to invest in the most promising companies of tomorrow, with one important difference,” said Google Capital partner David Lawee in February. “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.”

    Freshdesk raised a previous round of funding in December.

    Image via Freshdesk

  • Google-Backed Renaissance Learning Gets Acquired

    One of the first three companies to get money from Google Capital announced today that it is being acquired. Learning analytics company Renaissance Learning will be acquired by Hellman & Friedman for $1.1 billion.

    Google announced the launch of Google Capital last month. It’s the company’s investment fund for growth-stage businesses (as opposed to those just starting out, which is what Google Ventures is for). Though the fund had been investing since last year, it launched with three companies in its portfolio: SurveyMonkey, LendingClub and Renaissance Learning.

    “Today there is an incredible opportunity to harness data to help teachers unlock the learning potential of their students,” said Renaissance Learning CEO Jack Lynch. “Partnering with Hellman & Friedman will give us additional tools and resources to continue building out our capabilities, broadening our market reach, and ultimately helping teachers transform education.”

    “Renaissance Learning is an outstanding company that has been helping educators accelerate student learning for decades,” said Tarim Wasim, Managing Director at Hellman & Friedman. “We believe strongly in the mission and are excited to help grow Renaissance’s impact globally through continued investment in products that make a difference in the classroom.”

    Google Capital is expected to remain an investor in the company.

    Since Google Capital’s Launch, it has added a fourth business with an investment in Auction.com. It has also now reportedly invested in Credit Karma, a consumer finance company.

    Image via Renaissance Learning

  • Recently Announced Google Capital Makes Fourth Investment

    Last month, Google announced Google Capital, an investment fund for growth-stage businesses. This is for Google to invest in established companies as opposed to those just getting off the ground, which is what Google Ventures is for.

    While the Google Capital investments have been happening for over a year, it was only in February that Google announced the fund and its actual name. With the announcement came a roster of three businesses that Google Capital had so far invested in: SurveyMonkey, LendingClub and Renaissance Learning.

    Now, the fund has reportedly made its fourth investment in Auction.com. According to to TechCrunch, Google Capital made a $50 million investment in the real estate marketplace, and a rep from Google’s fund will join its board of directors, while another will serve as a board observer.

    Auction.com has been repeatedly described as an eBay for real estate, as buyers bid on real estate, and actually initiate transactions online. TechCrunch quotes David Lawee, one of the partners leading Google Capital, as saying:

    “Auction.com has quietly built one of the largest marketplaces on the web. We think Auction.com can fundamentally change how real estate, and particularly commercial real estate, can be bought and sold, leveling the playing field for smaller investors.”

    The money will reportedly be used for product expansion, mobile development and sales/marketing.

    Product expansion and mobile development were apparently on SurveyMonkey’s list of post-funding priorities as well. Since the Google Capital announcement (though the investment was made last year), that company has launched a new mobile app.

    Image via Auction.com

  • Google Capital-Backed SurveyMonkey Launches New iOS App

    Google announced its new growth-stage business investment fund Google Capital this week. SurveyMonkey, one of three companies in its portfolio, just announced a new mobile app and SDK.

    The app is available for iOS, and lets organizations create surveys and monitor/analyze results in real time. It includes an “intuitive” user interface with templates for more in-depth surveys. It allows for response collection via email, social and website, and includes kiosk functionality for on-site customer feedback.

    The analytics engine lets users filter, compare and analyze survey results in realtime. Survey results can be exported as PDF, Excel and CSV files.

    “The demand for making decisions quickly, no matter where you are, keeps increasing,” said CEO Dave Goldberg. “We’ve seen a 14x increase in our mobile traffic over the past three years. The old model of making decisions only while you’re in the office no longer exists, thanks to trends like BYOD, and now Bring Your Own Services. SurveyMonkey was one of the first services people brought into the office and we’ve always offered a robust mobile solution for people to take surveys. Now, our mobile app allows organizations to gather and analyze critical data needed for real time decisions from any location, any time, fueling a smarter, agile and ultimately more productive workforce.”

    “Untethered employees will now be able to easily send surveys while working outside the office, like in field or lab environments,” the company explains. “Additionally, the app will now make it easier for employees to monitor results and react immediately to trends the survey identifies, like issues with customer satisfaction or campaign effectiveness”

    The mobile feedback SDK lets you get feedback at any point during a user’s experience within an app. It will be released this year for both iOS and Android. Developers can sign up now.

    SurveyMonkey says it knows users want an Android app, but gives no timeframe on when one might become available. The company notes, however, that its site and surveys are optimized for all mobile devices.

    SurveyMonkey was the first of the three Google Capital investments, raising $800 million early last year in a round that included Google and others.

    Image via SurveyMonkey

  • Google Announces Google Capital Investment Fund For Growth-Stage Businesses

    Google announced the launch of a new growth equity fund called Google Capital. It’s backed by the company, and led by partners David Lawee, Scott Tierney and Gene Frantz.

    Google describes the fund as a growth-stage business counterpart to Google Ventures, which launched five years ago.

    “Like our colleagues at Google Ventures, our goal is to invest in the most promising companies of tomorrow, with one important difference,” says Lawee. “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. Our investments to date include SurveyMonkey, Lending Club and Renaissance Learning—with many more to come.”

    Google Capital, while previously unnamed officially, has been around for over a year. The SurveyMonkey investment took place in January 2013. The LendingClub investment followed in May. The Renaissance Learning investment is new though (it’s $40 million).

    If you’re unfamiliar with these companies, SurveyMonkey provides online survey solutions, LendingClub is a low-rate banking alternative, and Renaissance Learning provides cloud-based education solutions.

    “But it’s not just a monetary investment for us,” says Lawee. “The most important—and distinctive—feature of Google Capital is how we work with our portfolio companies. Over the past 15 years, Google has built a strong business, and that’s mostly thanks to the great people who work here. Our portfolio companies have abundant access to the talent, passion and strategic expertise of some of Google’s technology and product leaders. While many investors may contribute money and advice to the companies they support, Google Capital is going beyond that and tapping into our greatest assets: our people. They help us succeed, and we believe they can help our portfolio companies do the same.”

    Here’s the full Google Capital investment team:

    Advisors include a number of high profile Googlers including Sundar Pichai, David Drummond, Alan Eustace, Amit Singh and quite a few others. You can see the full list here.

    Image via Google