Google is going into the venture capital business with a $100 million fund to start, a year-one down payment apparently on millions more to come.

Google Ventures will be run by William Maris, founder of web hosting pioneer Burlee.com and an ex-portfolio manager for AB, and Rich Miner and will be managed for financial returns like Kleiner Perkins or Sequoia as opposed to the typical strategic corporate venture arm that often primes start-ups for future acquisition.

Miner, formerly an Orange VP and a principal in Orange Ventures, moves over from Google’s mobile unit which picked him with its acquisition of Android.

Single investments could range from seed funds to the tens of millions. The scale could threaten some start-ups as much as help others, and of course will extend Google’s already formidable influence.

Miner told the Financial Times that Google Ventures is even open to investments that ultimately prove disruptive to Google itself.

The operation, which stands ready to co-invest too, is shopping for early-stage and mezzanine opportunities in a range of industries including healthcare, hardware, bio-tech, consumer Internet, clean-tech and software, all with an innovative flair.

See http://www.google.com/ventures/index.html.