GE has seen more than 5,000 submissions for its $200m Ecomagination corporate venturing fund. Within a year, and in just one segment it invests in, GE has become one of the world's largest corporate venturers by committing $134m to more than 20 portfolio companies identified by its Ecomagination Challenge.

From a culture of deal-making, efficiency and cost-cutting to learning "that accelerating open innovation across public, private and national borders can drive shared value for the company and its partners" is some step in less than a decade for US-listed industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE).

Few other companies would set a goal of investing $1.5bn per year in new products tied to clean technology but GE reached it a year early with its Ecomagination programme. It is all part of…