San Diego-based firm Section 32 has attracted endowments and foundations to its latest venture fund, which closed at $740 million.
The Section 32 Fund 4 aims to support companies across all stages that are pioneering innovations at the forefront of technology and healthcare sectors.
The firm now boasts more than $1.8 billion in assets and was founded by Bill Maris, who spent almost a decade at Google/Alphabet as the founder and first CEO of Google Venture and also served as vice president of special projects. Maris worked closely with the Google founders to help incubate and launch Google X, Waymo and Verily and led global investment activities for Google and Alphabet.
With the closing of Fund 4 the firm appointed Nina Labatt as chief operating officer and chief financial officer, who had been COO and general partner at Trinity Ventures. She also has been managing director of private equity services for Silicon Valley Bank, as well as chief financial officer for Health Evolution Partners.
“I’m so pleased that Nina has joined this team and I look forward to what this growing group will achieve together,” commented Maris. “What a privilege it is to close this fourth fund, and to thus have the continued opportunity to try to use capital as a lever to accelerate the profound positive impact technology can have on healthcare and humanity.”
To-date, Section 32 has made investments in more than 70 companies including Coinbase, Crowdstrike, Relay Therapeutics, Thrive Earlier Detection (acquired by Exact Sciences), and Vir Biotechnology. Section 32 has made eight investments from Fund 4 following an initial close of the fund in July 2021.
Section 32 invests across the entirety of technology and life sciences. This includes software, cybersecurity, advanced communications and computation, space, climate change related technologies, machine learning, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, therapeutics, advanced diagnostics, precision medicine and genomics.
