New Regime

Google's Growth Fund Gets a New Head, 8VC Raises $800 Million to Build the Future, and a Startup Puts Web Visitors Under a Microscope.

Author

Adam from VC Brags
March 02, 2023

Welcome Shareholders,    

In this daily edition of the Brags Newsletter, we'll cover a sea change at Google's Growth fund, a Texas Venture Fund looks to "Fix a Broken World" with its fifth fund, and a Startup raises money to build its Behavioural Marketing Platform.  

So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!

Venture Today 👏

  • David Lawee, who founded Alphabet's growth stage venture arm, CapitalG, is stepping down as managing partner after a decade. 

Lawee, who previously served as Google's first chief marketing officer and VP of Corporate Development, will stay on in the transition period and is in the process of stepping off his board seats, except for Lyft, where he'll continue to serve as an independent director. Laela Sturdy will replace Lawee, making CapitalG one of the few ventures to be led by a female partner, a refreshing change in an industry where women and people of color are still underrepresented.

CapitalG focuses on growth investments and is distinct from Alphabet's early-stage venture arm, GV (which was formerly known as Google Ventures). Sturdy has made significant bets, investing in behemoths like Stripe and Duolingo. She has invested in over ten companies valued at $1 billion or more, including UiPath, which debuted to much fanfare in 2021. Sturdy joined Google in 2007 in strategy and marketing and later shifted to sales. By 2010, Sturdy was leading emerging businesses, growing new ad and commerce products such as AdWords Express and Google Offers.

Who's Raising?

  • 8VC, led by Palantir founder Joe Lonsdale said that it had raised $880 million for its fifth fund and was looking to invest in startups that would "fix a broken world." 

8VC didn't disclose which industries the fund would target or the average check size it would make but said that the new fund brings it's total managed capital to over $6 billion. The firm, which now employs over 60 people, will invest across startups from pre-seed to late-stage growth and will also build companies itself. 8VC famously announced in 2020 that it was moving away from San Francisco to Austin, Texas.

Since then, the startup ecosystem has seen a boom in Austin, with 8VC becoming the largest Texas-based VC. The firm has made over 500 investments across startups in defense, healthcare, IT infrastructure, life sciences, and logistics. Its portfolio of investments includes Asana, Blend, Flexport, his and hers, Mammoth Biosciences, The Boring Company, Qualia, and Wish.

Startup of the Day

  • Wunderkind has raised $76 million in a Series C funding round led by financial services firm Neuberger Berman for its platform, enabling brands to target web visitors through various digital advertising formats.

Wunderkind's total funding now exceeds $150 million after the recent round, and the new funds are being used for product development, hiring, and ongoing market expansion. The company, which was founded in 2010, seeks to enhance brands' capacity to develop customer relationships via digital channels by analyzing real-time and historical behaviors of smartphone and desktop web visitors, aligning value with intent.

Based on the web page that referred them and the content they're engaging with, Wunderkind asserts that it can identify visitors. Wunderkind now works with over 1,000 brands in industries across direct-to-consumer and tech spaces, including companies like Rag & Bone, HelloFresh, Uniqlo, Sonos, and See's Candy. 

Memes and Other Things

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