At Out The Back Ventures (OTB), we’ve been privileged to work closely with Global Corporate Venturing (GCV) in the development of this report—a practical guide designed to help corporate venture capital (CVC) teams and university communities better understand one another and ultimately collaborate more effectively in commercialising breakthrough research.

The concepts and frameworks in this handbook have been shaped through a joint effort, drawing on GCV’s extensive network within the corporate venturing world and OTB’s on-the-ground experience building startups from within universities across multiple geographies. Together, we’ve aimed to create a resource that not only explains how things work within universities and CVCs, but also why they often seem so different—and how to turn those differences into strengths.

Universities are home to some of the most strategic and high-impact innovations in the world—in areas like quantum computing, advanced materials, clean energy, and life sciences. Yet for many CVCs, navigating university systems can feel difficult, opaque, or slow. Likewise, universities often struggle to engage effectively with corporates and investors, unsure how to align incentives or structure partnerships.

This report serves as both a reference point and a starting guide. It is intentionally written in clear, accessible language, aiming to demystify key concepts such as approaching technology transfer offices (TTOs), structuring spinouts, involving academic founders, and piloting technologies within corporate environments. It also includes case studies and data to ground the discussion in real-world experience.

We hope this resource helps CVCs unlock more value from university research, and helps universities feel more empowered to engage industry partners earlier and more meaningfully.

— The OTB Team