Nicolas Sauvage, president of TDK Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2025 Powerlist.

Nicolas Sauvage made it clear early on that entrepreneurs are the customers of his investment firm. This drives the mission of his 33-member team and it is this clarity that makes sure everyone is going in the same direction, he says. “We made a clear design choice that the entrepreneurs are the customer, not just the portfolio companies, and that drives all the right behaviours across the team,” says Sauvage.

This direction influences, for example, how it treats the founders in whose companies the team has decided not to invest. “Even when we pass on an investment, we are very thoughtful and respectful, taking our time to explain why we are passing,” says Sauvage.

“We made a clear design choice that the entrepreneurs are the customer, not just the portfolio companies, and that drives all the right behaviours across the team.”

The team at TDK Ventures, the CVC unit of Japanese electronics maker TDK, is split into three distinct groups – an investment team, an engagement team and a scaling team The latter is responsible for helping portfolio companies on value-add that is not directly related to TDK, such as marketing guidance, non-dilutive financing options, legal suggestions in building data rooms and human resources blueprints. The decision to build a separate scaling team came after it surveyed portfolio companies five years ago. One of the most significant areas identified in the first survey as requiring help was marketing.

“We did not expect that, but at the same time, we invest in early-stage companies, typically with very deep tech-type profiles, such as 10 PhDs or two part-time professors, so it makes sense that they wanted help with marketing. Our scaling team has been growing with what we learn in terms of what portfolio companies need to be the most successful,” says Sauvage.

TDK Ventures has 44 investments in its portfolio, spanning a variety of technologies in electrification, decarbonisation and the digital economy. It recently launched a $150m fund to invest in deep tech startups, taking its total assets under management to $500m. It also has a $150m multi-LP decarbonisation fund focused on startups in Europe and North America. That fund invests in areas related to energy security, such as nuclear fusion.


The Global Corporate Venturing 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. 

See the full 2025 Powerlist here.