By Krystal Hu
December 13, 20239:55 AM CST Updated 8 hours ago
Dec 13 (Reuters) - Venture capital firm GV, backed by Google parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), has hired Michael McBride from software firm GitLab (GTLB.O) as its latest general partner to focus on open-source and AI startups, the firm told Reuters.
McBride served as the chief revenue officer for five years at GitLab, an open-source developer tools maker in GV's portfolio that went public in late 2021.
The software industry veteran said he would concentrate on early-stage startups that focus on enterprise customers, including those that use open-source and AI-driven approaches.
"I've learned a lot about how open source can give startup and growth companies a big advantage. I think it's going to be a powerful business model in AI," McBride said.
It was important for startups built on free open-source technology to invest in both the open-source community and in growing their revenue-generating business, he said.
While venture capital funding has slowed due to interest rate hikes and valuation resets, GV has completed 125 investments this year with an average of $1 billion invested annually since 2020.