According to reports Google is working on plans to start a venture capital arm.

According to the report the group will be led by David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer

How the group will be structured and what sort of investments it is likely to target remain unclear.

The Mountain View, Calif., Web giant has long preferred to buy companies rather than invest in them, and has plenty of cash to keep doing so. But it has invested millions of dollars in companies ranging from Current Communications, which offers broadband Internet over power lines, to Meraki, a wireless-Internet-equipment manufacturer.

The company said last year that it intends to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in renewable-energy projects in conjunction with its philanthropic arm, Google.org.

Google also has launched a number of informal funding programs, including contests for software developers.