Energy

2016 saw some big changes at the top of some of the biggest CVC units; some corporates raised huge funds and others got into the game, though the IPO market slowed to a crawl.

Intel Capital modified its investment structure in 2016 and pledged to cut its portfolio by around 25% in the next five or six years while increasing its investment sizes.

The China-based internet major romped ahead of rivals Alibaba and Baidu this year when it came to corporate venturing, investing in two billion-dollar deals and three more $500m+ rounds.

Alphabet subsidiary GV lost key figures Bill Maris and Rich Miner but Google Capital rebranded as CapitalG and ramped up the size of its investments.

Despite the departure of company president Nikesh Akora in June, SoftBank continued to invest big in Asian consumer internet and is set to close its $100bn Vision Fund soon.

Google-backed Symphony is targeting $200m in a round that will make it the latest company to carve out a place in the instant messaging unicorn club.

The offshore wind technology developer raised the capital from corporates Schlumberger, Eon and Shell and plans to develop a pilot system in 2017.

Bill Gates has led a group of private investors, including Jack Ma, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson to establish a $1bn fund aimed at tackling climate change.

A paper by corporate venturing unit Telstra Ventures suggests the most effective ways for corporates to invest, and predicts they will make up 35% of venture capital investment by 2025.

The solar technology provider, an Oxford University spinoff, received additional capital from investors like Statoil's $200m energy ventures fund.