The Danish shipping and logistics company will focus on commercial partnerships with startups instead of minority equity investing.
Danish shipping company Maersk has paused investing in new startups, shifting its focus instead to venture clienting.
Its move to cease venture capital investing follows a restructuring at Maersk Growth, its corporate venture capital unit.
“Maersk Growth continues its operations; however, as with any corporate venture unit, our setup evolves alongside the wider organisation, and Maersk has recently refined the structure of Maersk Growth,” said a company spokesperson.
“While we will pause investments in new startups at this time, the team will continue with its activities and work closely with existing portfolio companies, providing continued support where it is critical to their roadmap and long-term success,” said the spokesperson.
While no reason was given for the decision, parent company Maersk last month announced cuts to around 1,000 positions as part of its response to challenging market conditions, including overcapacity and lower freight rates that have impacted earnings. The Iran war also continues to disrupt trade flows in and out of the region.
Maersk Growth’s focus on venture clienting reflects a shift to a less costly approach to corporate innovation. Venture clienting involves corporates entering commercial partnerships with startups rather than taking minority equity stakes.
Maersk Growth’s recent investments in startups include Fleetzero, a developer of battery-electric cargo ships and modular batter-swapping marine propulsion systems, and ICeye, a developer of synthetic aperture radar-based satellite systems.
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