James Mawson, editor-in-chief of Global Corporate Venturing, welcomed a panel to the stage this morning to discuss how to scale corporate venturing activities.
The panel included Jonathan Bullock, chief operating officer and managing director of telecommunications group SoftBank; Ana Segurado Escudero, director of Open Future at telecom firm Telefónica; and Heidi Roizen, operating partner at venture capital firm DFJ.
Roizen picked up on a discussion from an earlier panel about value, explaining that DFJ is keen on collaborating with corporate venture capitalists (CVCs) because they have a strategic motivation that is lacking from a traditional VC investor.
“Money is a commodity,” Roizen observed, and while bringing cash to the table is nice, everyone has capital and it is the expertise that really makes a difference.
What DFJ does care about is process – if it takes longer than six weeks for a CVC unit to approve an investment, DFJ will walk away as the market is too competitive and fast-paced and a deal can easily be missed.
Escudero explained that Telefónica’s approach relies on its Open Future accelerator network, which currently runs 11 programs across the globe with a 100-strong headcount to manage the portfolio.
Escudero also noted the importance of open and collaborative innovation; Telefónica’s CVC unit, Telefónica Ventures, approves deals on a case-by-case basis but always requires the approval of an internal business team. The approach ensures guaranteed engagement from a relevant team.
Additionally, Telefónica does not require or want exclusivity and aims to steer startups away from relying on its business, an attitude reflected in the fact that the corporate generally does not lead rounds and prefers having a financial partner.
Bullock took the opportunity to briefly dive into the SoftBank Vision Fund, which achieved a first close at $93bn a couple of days ago, claiming that the vehicle cannot be considered a VC or private equity fund in the traditional sense, adding: “to compare it with a traditional VC fund is to misunderstand our strategy”.
SoftBank will continue to invest in other ventures where the corporate will aim to partner early-stage VC firms rather than compete with them. The Vision Fund will focus on growth-stage companies that will receive cheques in the region of $100m.
Bullock pointed to Europe, where there is a gap in series C and D funding, as a particular area SoftBank is keen to cover. He added that he hopes the industry will evolve to be more diverse, welcoming the fact he was on stage with two women.
When it comes to incentive pay, Roizen said that carried interest is a very long game and corporations need to be aware that people tend to do what they are paid for today.
Mawson ended the discussion with a question on which regions and sectors we should watch. While Roizen chose autonomous vehicles and Silicon Valley, Bullock pointed to autonomy and artificial intelligence in Asia, and Escudero went with cybersecurity and Silicon Valley.