The blurring of lines between corporate and independent venture capital is continuing apace as all parties consider how best they can support entrepreneurs while fulfilling their five needs: capital, customers, product development, hiring and an exit.

This naturally brings the best investors together with the corporations best able to scale startups and then potentially acquire them, so it is little surprise in many ways to see US-based coffee retailer Starbucks form a co-investment partnership with venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China.

Starbucks said it would also look to form “commercial partnerships with next-generation food and retail technology companies” in China through a statement announcing the agreement.

The corporate added that it would gain “ideas in the retail marketplace, creating opportunities for strategic investment,” while portfolio companies would leverage Starbucks’ retail expertise, scale and infrastructure.

It also opens up China through a local partnership, given many US-based corporate venturing units have been relatively shut out of directly investing in the world’s second-largest economy for much of the past few years, in comparison to wider Chinese investment in the US.

James Mawson

James Mawson is founder and chief executive of Global Venturing.