S32

S32 Research

Investment Thesis

S32 (formerly Section 32) is a high-conviction venture firm founded in 2017 by Bill Maris, the former founder and CEO of Google Ventures (GV). The firm invests in software-driven businesses in technology and healthcare "at the frontiers of technology," with an explicit strategy of avoiding commoditized categories where large technology incumbents (Google, Microsoft, etc.) will give capabilities away for free. Instead, S32 concentrates on application-layer and infrastructure bets in artificial intelligence, computational biology, physical AI/robotics, cybersecurity, and enterprise software, where deep technical and scientific expertise creates durable moats.

The firm deliberately limits the number of companies it backs per fund (roughly 20-25 investments per fund) so each portfolio company receives meaningful capital, partner time, and operational support, rather than spreading a large fund thin across many small positions.

Sector Focus

S32's stated focus areas, per its own site and public materials, are:

• Artificial intelligence (application-layer, avoiding commoditized foundation-model plays)
• Computational biology and life sciences
• Physical AI and robotics
• Infrastructure and developer tooling
• Cybersecurity
• Enterprise software

Stage Focus

S32 invests primarily at Series A and Series B, with selective later-stage and seed opportunities (e.g., the 2026 VeYou and Autoscience Institute seed rounds). Public reporting describes typical initial checks of $5M-$10M with substantial reserves for follow-on rounds across a company's lifecycle.

Check Size

Based on public reporting (TechCrunch, 2023): initial checks of roughly $5M-$10M, with meaningful follow-on reserves allocated per position given the fund's concentrated, high-conviction approach.

Lead Tendency

S32 both leads and follows. It led VeYou's 2026 seed round and has historically led or co-led rounds in companies like Coinbase, CrowdStrike, and Databricks. It has also taken participant/follow-on positions alongside other leads, as in the 2026 Autoscience Institute seed (led by General Catalyst) and the Culture Biosciences Series C (led by Northpond Ventures).

Recent Activity

S32 closed Fund V at $525M in October 2023 (oversubscribed), bringing cumulative AUM to roughly $2.3B at the time. In September 2025, the firm held a first close on Fund VI at $413.5M, targeting $600M for the final close — a signal of continued active deployment. Public estimates place total AUM across all six funds at roughly $3B as of 2025-2026. In 2025 the firm made approximately 13 new investments, and as of Q1-Q2 2026 has continued deploying capital, including a March 2026 seed investment in Autoscience Institute (autonomous AI research labs) and a mid-2026 lead seed investment in VeYou (vertical micro-drama streaming).

Portfolio Highlights

S32's portfolio includes some of the most recognizable names in recent venture history: Coinbase, CrowdStrike, Databricks, Scale AI, Cohere, SandboxAQ, Deel, Gusto, Neuralink, Black Forest Labs, Basecamp Research, Snorkel AI, Linear, Whatnot, and Vir Biotechnology. Exits/IPOs include CrowdStrike (2019 IPO), Coinbase (2021 direct listing), and Relay Therapeutics (2020 IPO). The firm reports 10 unicorns, 9 IPOs, and 16 acquisitions across its history. Note that a subset of the firm's most iconic "backed" logos (e.g., Uber, Slack, Nest) predate S32's 2017 founding and were investments made by Bill Maris and team during their earlier tenure at Google Ventures, not S32 fund investments — S32's own site frames these as "notable companies backed prior to S32's formation."

Team

• Bill Maris — General Partner, Founder. Former CEO of Google Ventures; built a portfolio that included Uber, Nest, and Coinbase before founding S32 in 2017.
• Andy Harrison — General Partner, CEO. Former executive at Alphabet's X and Verily; two-time startup founder.
• Andrew Conrad, PhD — General Partner (joined February 2024). Founder and former CEO of Verily Life Sciences (Alphabet's life sciences unit); roughly 30 years of experience spanning biology, data, and AI; previously Chief Scientific Officer at LabCorp.
• Mike Pellini, MD — General Partner. Former CEO of Foundation Medicine; three decades in personalized medicine.
• Alice Cheung — Partner, Talent. A decade at Alphabet building teams for Waymo, Loon, Glass, Wing, and Verily; over 1,700 hires.
• Bayan Alizadeh — Partner. Former investor at Norwest Venture Partners; prior investment banker at Morgan Stanley (worked on Rivian, Nubank, and HashiCorp IPOs).
• Derrick Chow — Partner. Former investor at CapitalG (Alphabet's growth fund), with exposure to Stripe, UiPath, and Duolingo; prior banker at Morgan Stanley.
• Kimberly Shih — Partner, Talent. Staffing-industry background; led hiring at Essential; SHRM-CP certified.
• Kenzo Fong — Partner, Product. Two-time founder and 20+ year product leader; led Android strategy and Google Maps, and founded Uber Eats.
• Wesley Tillu — Partner. Former investor at In-Q-Tel (the CIA's venture arm); previously led Google Express partnerships; Wharton MBA.
• Nick Smith — Chief Investor Relations Officer. Former Head of Investor Relations at Foresite Capital.
• Nina Labatt — CFO & COO. Former COO/GP at Trinity Ventures; Harvard MBA; prior Goldman Sachs experience.

Decision Process

S32 operates as a multi-GP partnership (four General Partners: Maris, Harrison, Conrad, Pellini) supported by a deep bench of investing and operating partners, rather than a solo-GP structure. The firm's talent and product partners (Cheung, Shih, Fong) provide hands-on operational support post-investment, which the firm markets as a core differentiator ("Talent Advantage").

Founder Preferences

S32 favors technical and scientific founders tackling frontier, defensible problems — particularly those building in AI infrastructure, computational biology, robotics/physical AI, cybersecurity, and enterprise software where deep domain expertise creates a moat against big-tech commoditization. The firm's own investment team is heavily weighted toward operators and scientists (ex-Verily, ex-Google/Alphabet, ex-LabCorp, ex-Foundation Medicine), suggesting an affinity for founders with comparable technical depth.

Geographic Focus

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California (Silicon Valley), S32 invests primarily in US-based companies, with its portfolio concentrated in the Bay Area alongside other major US tech hubs.