The economic downturn has made corporate venture capital units vulnerable to restructurings and budget cuts. What should you do when the mothership assigns you a new boss who wants to change direction?

We look at some of the greatest corporate VC investments, from a $2.5m investment in a future $170bn company in the 80's to a deal in the wake of the dotcom boom that has produced $130bn.

More corporations are setting up venture studios. They work well with CVC units as long as you understand the strengths of each.

As corporate investment units get bigger, they need a mix of skillsets and career levels — and a good COO to manage them.

Some 38% of CVC units have a team dedicated to helping portfolio companies make business connections. It is increasingly becoming a secret weapon for investors as portfolio valuations come under strain.

A small but growing number of CVCs are quietly reaching fund sizes of more than $1bn. When they get there, life changes in some ways.

Failure to understand product-market fit is at the heart of why most projects fail. CVCs could take some lessons from these post-mortems.

Lukasz Garbowski, investment director at Btomorrow Ventures, describes how the corporate venture unit helps its parent diversify away from tobacco.

Btomorrow Venture’s investment director Lukasz Garbowski talks about its mission to help British American Tobacco reinvent itself in an industry going out of vogue.

To be truly effective, an innovation team needs freedom to operate, a separate measurement framework and incentives.