Industrial companies are facing a period of pronounced change as the pace
of innovation has enabled start-ups to enter areas long the domain of large
corporations. In response, large corporates are starting or expanding corporate
venturing programmes.

In November 2010, ABB used its corporate venturing group, Technology Ventures, to make a strategic investment in Pentalum Technologies.

JSR, a Japan-based industrial company, has taken a minority equity stake in Switzerland-based healthcare purification technology provider ChromaCon as part of a worldwide commercial collaboration.

Aeris Capital, the family office of software provider SAP co-founder Klaus Tschira, and Benjamin Kahn, Altantium executive chairman, joined Aster, which is backed by France-based corporations Alstom, Solvay and Schneider Electric, in the round.