WASHINGTON: A venture capital fund with links to Alphabet Inc’s famed moonshot factory, X, has raised hundreds of millions to invest in the companies that spin off from the lab, according to a source.
Series X Capital, which is run by YouTube alum and former Facebook chief financial officer Gideon Yu, now expects to exceed its initial target of US$500mil later this year.
The fund launched last year with the mission of helping projects graduate from Alphabet’s X and make the transition into standalone businesses.
The fundraising effort, which Bloomberg reported on last year, is set to wrap up in the third or fourth quarter of this year, said the source.
Representatives for Series X Capital, Alphabet and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
X, formerly called Google X, captured the public imagination with its bold explorations in fields ranging from telecommunications to climate science.
The lab has birthed some of Alphabet’s most ambitious undertakings, including self-driving car business Waymo and life sciences firm Verily.
Last year, the lab began focusing on helping its projects spin off as independent companies, part of an effort at Alphabet to tighten financial discipline and bring in outside investors for more efforts. — Bloomberg
