Socheat Chhay, global head of corporate venture at Sopra Steria, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2026 Powerlist.
As global head of corporate venture at France-based Sopra Steria, Socheat Chhay is responsible for group‑wide innovation and investment strategy.
Having joined from the French state’s investment and development bank, BPIfrance, in 2023, Chhay has helped defined and execute the 2023–2028 investment vision and roadmap with family shareholders and executive leadership.
Last year saw a few investments, including Alice & Bob (quantum computing), Hexa (startup studio with 50+ ventures and 3 unicorns) and XXII (AI-powered computer vision for defence and security) and 12 new startup/scale-up strategic partnerships with eight-figure euros total contract value and pilots.
These take its portfolio to more than 17 strategic investments across AI, quantum and deep tech‑ sectors across Europe and the US.
The broad use of corporate venturing has seen 110 startups/scale-ups sent to Sopra Steria’s business units and 25 cliented through the CVC platform Chhay built to create synergies linking technology innovation to business results.
Beyond investment activity, Chhay has worked to position Sopra Steria as a venture partner of choice for emerging technology companies seeking access to enterprise customers and industry expertise. By aligning venture engagement with business-unit priorities, he has strengthened internal adoption of innovation while building a more systematic approach to sourcing, evaluating and scaling strategic partnerships across the group.
In a European corporate venturing landscape increasingly defined by discipline over exuberance, Chhay has emerged as an influential architect of change – winning the local institutional Maddyness x French Tech award for CVCs last year.
Chhay represents a new cohort of CVC leaders who prioritise operational integration, measurable business impact and capital efficiency. He is helping redefine what “good” corporate venturing looks like in Europe today: disciplined, embedded and strategically indispensable.
If the next phase delivers clearer proof points, such as scaled commercial partnerships, realised exits, and repeatable venture client wins, his tenure could become a case study in how to modernise a mid-sized European CVC for long-term relevance.
The GCV Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
Here’s a snapshot of their recent deals:
