Google venture capital arm quietly took an interest in Snapchat

By Saqib Shah Updated November 5, 2016

snapchat — dennizn/123RF

Alphabet has quietly disclosed a Snapchat investment through its rebranded CapitalG venture capital arm, previously known as Google Capital.

Snapchat’s logo was spotted in the portfolio section of the CapitalG website by Business Insider. The company’s iconic ghost imprint on a yellow background can be seen next to the logos of other companies backed by Alphabet, including Airbnb, SurveyMonkey, and Glassdoor. Notably, Snapchat’s is the only logo that doesn’t offer any additional information about the company — neither is the firm mentioned elsewhere on the website.

Alphabet is yet to formally announce the investment or provide details regarding when it was made. We reached out to both Alphabet and Snap for a comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

The rebranding brings with it a Twitter presence, with CapitalG tweeting that more news and updates on its equity investment fund and portfolio companies is forthcoming.

“Though our name has changed, our goal remains the same: to make returns-driven investments in leading companies around the world and help entrepreneurs rapidly grow their businesses,” CapitalG wrote in a Google+ post.

On its website it claims its unique approach to investment includes mentorship programs for its portfolio companies led by experts from Google’s offices worldwide: “CapitalG works with Google experts to advise on product, engineering, marketing, sales, operations, and other essential areas to help companies scale effectively.”

Specifically speaking, it claims to help firms using its technical expertise on subjects ranging from scaling architecture, to making the transition to the cloud, to mobile development, to cybersecurity, and more.

Snap (the company behind the visual messaging app) is rumored to be busy planning an IPO for March 2017, which could see its valuation skyrocket from its present $18 billion price tag to an estimated $25 billion to $35 billion. Its other major backers include Fidelity, Alibaba, Tencent, Saudi investment group Kingdom Holding Company, and Lightspeed. Snap reportedly rejected an acquisition offer from Google of $3 billion in 2013.

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