GV (Google Ventures)

People come for the Partiful invite. Now they can buy the ticket too. Ticketing is now built directly into the product people already use to plan and attend events. We’re excited to see Shreya M., Joy Tao, and the team continue expanding the ways they help people get together in the real world. Congrats to the whole team!

Congrats to Kevin Eisenfrats and the Contraline team on their Series B! Contraline is pioneering a category that has historically seen very little innovation: male contraception. (Yes, you read that right: birth control for men!) Their latest milestone will support the continued development of NES/T, a once-daily topical gel that serves a reversible male contraceptive. GV is proud to continue supporting the Contraline team as they lead the development of effective and reversible contraceptive options for men.

As phishing attacks become more sophisticated and AI makes social engineering easier to scale, MokN is helping enterprises catch compromised credentials before attackers can use them. Most security tools detect stolen credentials only after an attack has already been attempted. MokN’s “Phish-Back” platform takes a more proactive approach by deploying phishing pages that lure attackers into revealing valid stolen credentials early, giving security teams a chance to respond faster. We’re excited to lead the team’s Series A and partner with founders Gautier Bugeon and Antoine Coudoux, CISSP as they advance active identity recovery for global enterprises. Read more from GV Partner Luna Schmid on why we invested at the link below.

The longer our team spend helping companies evaluate leaders, the more convinced I am that most interviewers overvalue competence and undervalue interpersonal judgment. When executives don’t last in roles, it's not always an account of technical ability or competence.  More typically; its their self-awareness, communication, and how they operate under pressure that’s responsible for their "sudden" departure! 👋 One thing that makes this harder today: candidates can easily prepare polished answers to the many broad interview questions. Worse: interview panels can make them smarter along the way by asking similar questions... An interview panel briefed with very specific areas to inspect, coupled with a self aware executive providing real world scenarios (and lessons learnt) is a perfect match! In the latest piece for my EQ series on the GV (Google Ventures) blog, I wrote about the hiring patterns and interview signals I pay the closest attention to especially when evaluating leadership candidates. Find the link in the comments 🤙

In a recent conversation on Rho’s podcast, Venture Grounds, GV Partner KJ Sidberry joined host Jason Grohowski for a wide-ranging conversation about consumer AI, founder intuition, and what actually creates durable companies in rapidly shifting markets. KJ shared why he believes this moment feels fundamentally different from previous platform shifts. As AI lowers the barriers to building and makes execution more accessible, founders increasingly need stronger points of view about where markets are heading and what consumers will truly value over time. The conversation also explored why “niche” markets are often underestimated, how constraints can produce stronger companies, and why there is still a meaningful gap between AI capability and real-world adoption. It’s a thoughtful discussion on consumer behavior, company-building, and how AI is reshaping what it takes to build enduring products. Watch the full conversation at the link below.

Last week, GV Managing Partner Krishna Yeshwant gave a deep and thoughtful interview on BioVenture VoiCes with Chris Garabedian. Krishna laid out his personal career path from computer science to medicine to venture investing. He shared how growing up in a family of doctors, combined with his exposure to computer science and the dot-com boom as a Stanford undergraduate, shaped his perspective on healthcare and technology. He also reflected on how his experience managing his father’s care in hospitals helped him recognize the disconnect between healthcare and technology, and how that ultimately led him to a career at the intersection of these two fascinating fields. Today, Krishna co-leads GV’s Life Science team, where we invest in therapeutics, payor provider and health tech companies, all with the goal of improving patient outcomes. An inspiring story worth a listen!

 AI is no longer confined to a single category or sector. It’s becoming foundational across industries, with founders building globally relevant companies from the Bay Area and beyond. This year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list reflects how quickly the AI shift is accelerating, and we’re proud to see five GV portfolio companies named. Congratulations! 🗂️ Ramp 💬 Sierra 💵 Ripple 🧑⚖️ Harvey 🩺 OpenEvidence

Congrats to Ray Wang, Zoey Zhang, and the entire Flick team, we’re excited to support you in your seed round! Flick is taking a thoughtful approach to AI filmmaking, building tools that help creators stay focused on storytelling, creative control, and cinematic intent. Excited to support the team as they build what comes next for filmmaking.