CVCs appear to be increasingly comfortable with taking a leading role in startup funding rounds — does this mark a permanent shift?
Month: September 2023
Debiopharm Innovation Fund to back seed startups
The biopharmaceutical CVC unit’s new initiative will back 15 seed-stage startups a year, especially those developing AI, data and digital health technologies.
The Big Deal: Anthropic leads the return of billion-dollar rounds
The week saw two billion-dollar rounds for the first time since the 2021 boom, but Anthropic and Rox Motor typify the top of a market increasingly concentrated in two areas.
CRH Ventures homes in on water tech to transform construction industry
The one-year-old $250m fund recently launched an accelerator to focus on early-stage companies that increase the efficiency of water in construction.
US hospital system participates in $30m healthtech fund
Nationwide Children’s Hospital and seed-stage venture studio Rev1 are partnering to invest in a dozen healthtech startups over five years.
9 startups that could change how we look at water
From technology that studies cosmic rays to measure soil moisture to a system that can turn air into water, we look at the most promising new startups in the water tech sector.
T-Mobile targets AI with second CVC fund
Nearly three years after launching, T-Mobile Ventures has announced a second fund that will expand its 5G focus into artificial intelligence.
Former SoftBank investor Chung joins Bessemer
Justina Chung, who invested for SoftBank Vision Funds for three years, has joined financial VC firm Bessemer Venture Partners to focus on European AI startups.
The agritech party is over, Syngenta’s CVC arm is surveying the damage
Agriculture is suffering a hangover from the frothy market of two years ago but is moving towards a new, more stable equilibrium, Shubhang Shankar of Syngenta Group Ventures tells us.
CVC Unplugged: JLR’s more strategic CVC is perfect for a company insider
Mike Smeed, managing director of InMotion Ventures, joins the show to talk about how the Jaguar LandRover’s venturing unit is changing direction to bring more strategic value to the parent.
Why Brazil’s Gerdau chose to take back its CVC
It is difficult for third-party firms with multiple clients to gain a good understanding of any single company, says head of CVC of Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau.
Are internal hires becoming more popular for CVCs?
A majority of CVCs still prefer to hire experienced investors externally, but internal hiring may be increasing in popularity.
The Big Deal: Instacart leads a new wave of IPOs
The corporate-backed shopping service floated in a $660m offering this week, alongside Klaviyo, RayzeBio and Neumora, but investors may have to pay a price for their IPO exits.
Ex-CVCs launch GFT Ventures with $140m
Nvidia GPU Ventures founder Jeff Herbst gives us the lowdown on the frontier tech fund he has put together with former Samsung Ventures MD Jay Eum.