Salesforce and SAP Ventures look to have picked a financial winner in file sharing company Box. The deal also has interesting strategic options for Salesforce and SAP, given Box's fast growth amongst mobile users.

Corporates should prepare an Africa strategy, as early movers like technology companies Intel and IBM are dipping their toes into the region.

Daimler's partnership with KPS Capital Partners is the latest joint deal between a corporate and a private equity firm - it is a type of corporate venturing-style deal which should happen more often.

RWE Innogy's corporate venturing unit combining with Vattenfall-backed Yellow & Blue Investment Management have teamed up to back biomass company Topell.

As the founder of one of the firms that has just been backed said: "My theory is that any company able to hold out to 2014 will be a winner."

The new world order aspect comes from how corporate connections are powered.

The challenge of managing a diverse set of strategic LPs is an area of increasing importance to many venture capital firms.