Consumer

"It's not the job of a corporation to emulate the investment strategy of a Silicon Valley VC," says change management consultant Greg Larkin.

An economic downturn is a great time to back startups on better terms. But investors should be careful of the tricky politics of down rounds.

Klarna's 83% drop in valuation to $6.7bn is the most visible harbinger of a buy now, pay later sector suffering from defaults and competition - some from the same corporates investing there.

DeNA and Seibu Holdings helped Allm raise $180m, while several corporates are exiting ViaCyte in a $320m acquisition.

The number of crypto and token funding rounds is still climbing but the overall volume of capital in these deals has fallen sharply.

Allianz X helped digital insurance provider Coalition raise $250m while protein synthesis technology developer Nuclera hiked an E Ink-backed series B round to $58m.

Corporates are still investing in startups but valuations have fallen dramatically. Some areas such as China and healthcare have been hit hard.

Volkswagen and Ingka Group helped Northvolt secure over $1bn while Dai-ichi Life has led a $120m series C for YuLife.

Being an early customer for startups — rather than investing in them — can increase the amount of technology a corporate can bring in 10x.

KT and Kakao Ventures were part of AI chip developer Rebellions’ $72.8m series A round while Nvent helped provide $35.8m for cooling system provider Iceotope.

Fabio Massuda will now sit across investments and portfolio management at the Brazilian firm.