The top 50: David Krane, CEO and managing partner, GV
David Krane is chief executive and managing partner for GV, US-based technology conglomerate Alphabet’s early-stage corporate venturing subsidiary formerly known as Google Ventures, and manages the vehicle’s activities worldwide.
Krane has been responsible for GV backing high-profile businesses such as ride-sharing provider Uber, consumer goods stock exchange StockX, smart home device maker Nest, and coffee roaster and retailer Blue Bottle Coffee.
Over the course of the past 12 months, GV has taken part in cancer diagnostics firm Freenome’s $300m series D round as well as a $205m series C round for Neuralink, a US-based firm which develops neurological devices and which was set up by Tesla founder Elon Musk.
Notable recent exits have included a $3.5bn reverse merger deal for genetic testing service 23andMe in early 2021, and a similar deal valuing Science 37, a developer of software for clinical trials, at $1.05bn in May last year.
GV appointed Krane a general partner in 2010, shortly after the unit was created, and he became managing partner four years later. Krane took up the joint managing partner and CEO roles in 2016 after Bill Maris, the unit’s former head and co-founder, formally stepped down. Krane had originally been hired by Google in 2000.
Krane retained consistency with the Maris era in the first half a dozen investments made since the transition, the largest deals featuring GV after Maris’s departure were in healthcare, including rounds for cancer-focused biotechnology company Carrick Therapeutics and immuno-oncology startup Arcus Biosciences.
Before joining Google, Krane had spent his time in both startups and public companies having worked for consumer electronics producer Apple, mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, Four11, which is the predecessor of email service provider Yahoo Mail, and two cybersecurity technology developers.
