Financial

Most interest internationally has been sparked by HNA's indirect corporate venturing strategy.

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 blockchain-equipped cross-border payment platform has received series A funding in a round backed by 9fBank and Baofoo.com.

Local finance facilitator IFMR Capital is set to eventually receive $50m from the bank, which is making the investment through its private equity arm.

Wells Fargo and Icap subsidiary Euclid Opportunities co-led a round that included Thomson Reuters, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

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.

Itochu, Dentsu, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group all contributed to the payment platform's Jafco-led series A round.

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.