Corporate venturing differs across countries. US companies, which were forerunners of setting up corporate investment arms, tend to have a higher concentration of larger funds and more mature structural models. The Brazilian corporate venture market is younger and places a heavy emphasis on venture building as a tool. Japan has seen a rapid expansion of corporate venturing over the past decade. Corporates take part in a high proportion of startup funding rounds in the country, and most are focused much more on strategic rather than financial gains.
The following charts highlight some of the key features of the US and Canadian, Brazilian, UK, Japanese and German corporate venture markets.
Corporate investors based in the US and Canada constitute the largest and most mature community across the globe and, with 137 responding units, represent the most significant component of the Keystone data set.
North American CVCs continue to be the trendsetters in developing sophisticated platforms (parent engagement + operational excellence) that walk the tightrope between delivering strategic impact at scale and meeting expectations for financial accountability. Corporate venture toolkits continue to expand, with venture clienting becoming a mainstream approach for later-stage startup commercial partnering.
CVC’s influence in VC ecosystem
16.8%
of US/Canada VC funding rounds include CVCs, participating in deals representing 56.1% of total value
CVC community maturity
76%
have cleared the startup phase hurdle, 41% are in ‘expansion phase’
CVC fund size
59%
have assets under management (AUM) exceeding $100m
CVC’s role in corporate innovation
39%
rate preparing for future disruption (Horizon 3) as top priority
Corporate venturing toolkit
44%
have venture client programmes, 41% have business development teams
CVC operating model
76%
invest from the balance sheet, with 40% of those driven by themes and business unit priorities
Geographic investment focus
79%
invest in Europe, 51% in Asia-Pacific and 30% in the Middle East, in addition to North America
Financial performance targets
54%
aim for VC-level or top-quartile performance targets, 42% are meeting those targets
Team size and structure
51%
have teams of five or fewer investors; 70% average more than five years of experience
CVC compensation levers
45%
award team members stock, 30% of units have a financial upside programme (‘carry’)
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