Google Ventures to Invest $100 Million in European Startups

Google is launching a fund devoted to nurturing promising tech startups in Europe.

The Silicon Valley-based Internet titan said Thursday that it is setting up a Google Ventures office with a mission of backing European entrepreneurs and putting $100 million into its account as a start.

"Our goal is simple: we want to invest in the best ideas from the best European entrepreneurs, and help them bring those ideas to life," Google Ventures managing partner Bill Maris said in a blog post.

When we launched Google Ventures in 2009, we set out to be a very different type of venture fund. Startups need more than just capital to succeed: they also benefit from engineering support, design expertise, and guidance with recruiting, marketing and product management. Five years later, we're working with more than 250 portfolio companies, tackling challenges across a host of industries. For example, the team at Flatiron Health is improving the way doctors and patients approach cancer care, SynapDx is developing a blood test for the early detection of Autism in children, and Clean Power Finance is making solar energy affordable for homeowners.

"We believe Europe's startup scene has enormous potential."

Google Ventures launched five years ago in the United States and blends cash backing with access to the tech titan's talents when it comes to engineering, design, marketing and other aspects of building winning companies.

(Also See: Google Reportedly Acquires Video Search Startup Baarzo)

It has a portfolio of more than 250 startups in areas including health care and solar energy.

"We've seen compelling new companies emerge from places like London, Paris, Berlin, the Nordic region and beyond," Maris said of the decision to extend Google's venture capital arm to Europe.