Section 32

Investment decisions are made by the General Partners, led by founder Bill Maris alongside CEO and General Partner Andy Harrison. The partnership includes former Verily CEO Andy Conrad, former Foundation Medicine CEO Mike Pellini, and former Thrive CEO Steve Kafka, each sourcing and leading deals in their areas of expertise. The team reports a consensus-driven process but ultimate authority rests with Maris, consistent with the firm's concentrated, high-conviction strategy.

Section 32 sources opportunities through the deep Alphabet and life-sciences networks of its partners, who previously built companies at Google X, Verily, and Foundation Medicine. The firm maintains an in-house data science team that uses machine learning to surface early-stage companies, supplementing traditional founder referrals. Partners also leverage relationships from prior venture seats at Lightspeed, Norwest, CapitalG, and In-Q-Tel.

Section 32 is a traditional venture capital firm managing outside limited-partner capital, not a family office. It operates a blind-pool fund structure rather than a single-family mandate, backed by endowments, foundations, and charitable family offices. Its investor-relations lead, Nick, previously raised capital for Foresite Capital and worked on the boards of CalPERS and CalSTRS.

Section 32 makes direct equity investments in operating companies and does not publicly disclose a fund-of-funds program. The firm describes itself as making 'fewer bets with full conviction,' indicating a highly selective direct-investment approach rather than allocating to external managers.

Section 32 targets early-stage, seed, and growth-stage companies, consistent with a multi-stage venture strategy. The firm has led rounds for research-stage life-sciences companies such as BigHat Biosciences and backed late-stage enterprise platforms like Databricks. Its partners hold board seats active enough to guide companies from prototype to hypergrowth.

Section 32 has not published a formal exclusion list, but its website and partner commentary emphasize a focus on 'frontiers of technology' — AI, precision medicine, deep tech, and enterprise software. The firm does not advertise exposure to consumer brands, traditional retail, or industrial manufacturing outside of tech-enabled businesses, suggesting those are not core mandates.

Section 32 is an independent firm with no formal ownership or control relationship with Alphabet. Founder Bill Maris previously led Google Ventures and helped incubate Google X, Waymo, Verily, and Calico, and many partners are former Alphabet executives, but Section 32 operates as a standalone venture fund. The firm does not serve as a strategic investment vehicle for Google or Alphabet.