About Pietro Dova

From 2001 to 2007, Pietro Dova worked at Google as Finance Director and Corporate Controller. He was responsible for the accounting departments worldwide and was part of the team that was the driving force behind the Google IPO and the roadshow leading to it. 

Dova left Google in 2008 to join forces with former colleague Andrea Zurek. Together, they launched XG ventures. The company invests seed capital in highly talented early-stage tech startups with innovative products or services, but that’s not where it ends. Dova and Zurek also provide the companies they invest in with strategic guidance, international networking contacts, and mentorship.

Early Years

Pietro Dova began his career in technology in 1988 when he joined Oracle, the multinational tech corporation and software company. He held various executive roles in the finance department until 1992. Before he joined Google, Dova worked at Employeeservice.com as Chief Finance Officer. From 1996 to 1999, he was the VP of Finance at Quote.com, an early digital pioneer providing investors with financial news and stock information. 

Location

Pietro Dova is based in Menlo Park, California, United States. Before settling there, he was the head of the European finance operations team at Fulcrum Technologies, which operated from Paris, France. In earlier years, Dova studied at the Imperial College London, in the United Kingdom, where he achieved an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering. Dova also attended the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he completed his Masters in Management. 

Remarkable Investments

Through XG Ventures, Pietro Dova has made several significant investments. He invested in Aardvark, a social search service, AppJet, a web startup, and Banter, a commerce platform. Google acquired all three companies. Some of his current significant investments include:

• AirHelp – a company that helps travelers to get compensation when they have delayed or canceled flights. 
• Block::Block – a blockchain lab that creates DAOs and NFTs, including MeebitsDAO and Savage Droids.
• Booksy – a free booking system for those who want to schedule health and beauty services appointments. 
• Cerby – a Shadow IT reduction service.
• Codesignal – a company that provides recruitment screening solutions for companies like Meta, Quora, Uber, Zoom, and Reddit.

Latest News

In July of 2022, XG Ventures portfolio company Carta, a fintech startup from San Francisco, acquired Vauban, a British investment platform. Over 10 rounds, Carta has now raised more than $1 billion and with the addition of Vauban, the company plans to provide even more angels and VC firms with investment tools across an integrated platform.

Pietro Dova was featured in Fortune Magazine in August 2014 as one of the Google executives that played a critical role in the company becoming public. XG Ventures took 4th place in the Forbes Midas List of 2013. The Wall Street Journal published a feature about the Google strategies XG Ventures used in seed investments.