It was happening, then it wasn’t — but now it seems Bill Maris’s venture fund might actually be more than vaporware. Maris, founder of Google Ventures, now called GV, is raising money again for a new healthcare, biotech and tech-focused venture capital fund, according to sources familiar with the matter. What was initially thought to be a $230 million fund has evolved into a smaller $100 million fund with the same focus.
The fund, which already has a website, is being named Section 32, an ode to the science fiction of Star Trek. TechCrunch reached out to Maris but he declined to comment on his plans for the fund. Maris also declined to discuss several personal investments that he has made since leaving GV last August.
Bloomberg News reported on Maris’s plans earlier today.
While Sand Hill Road and venture capital remain synonymous, Maris plans to operate out of San Diego. The city is a known hub for biotech. In fact, a report from EY pegs investment activity at third in the country behind the Bay Area and New England for the space.
Fresh off working with a large team at GV, Maris is said to want to carry on as a lone wolf, rejecting the idea of other investing partners and the checks and balances that can come with it. Sources familiar with Maris’s thinking further say Maris “didn’t want to feel pressured to do bad deals.”
These same sources say that Section 32’s investment sizes are likely to range from seed to growth-stage bets, given his past work at GV.
The fund is expected to close later this month or early next month.