The US remains the largest market for venture capital (VC) fundraising, albeit one that is consolidating, but within the corporate venturing industry it has been overtaken by China and the UK.
The trend has been evident for some time: US venture capitalists invested $68.3bn while raising $55bn over the past three years, according to US law firm Fenwick & West in its barometer of dealmaking in the first three months of the year (first quarter, Q1).
There was a "significant increase" in commitments to 25 VC funds in Q1, to $7.7bn, concentrated in a "few large funds, such as Bessemer, Sequoia and JP Morgan," that made up 55% of the total, Fenwick added quoting VentureSource data.
"This was the highest amount raised in a first quarter since 2001, but the lowest number of individual funds raising money in a first quarter since 2003."
And by looking at corporate venturing activity, the US has lost its dominant position in terms of fund launches by American firms for the domestic market. JP Morgan set up a $1.2bn fund to invest in digital companies but other firms, such as International Data Group, either see better opportunities in other markets or are raising smaller vehicles as a first step into corporate venturing.
Foley & Lardner’s fund is $4m, PlayPhone’s is $10m while TinyCo’s is $5m. Of launches by American firms this year, only US-based drugs company Merck’s $125m Global Health Innovation fund is classic-sized for optimum performance, while GE, ConocoPhillips and NRG Energy have teamed up to raise the $300m Energy Technology Ventures fund (Cargill’s $400m Black River Capital Partners fund is halfway through being raised).
Outside of America, and there has been a host of activity from the small – Marshall and BBH in the UK raising early-stage funds – through to the large: J Rothschild teaming up with Creat Partners or five UK-based banks setting up a $4bn Business Growth Fund to take minority equity positions usually in its borrowers.
In China, Tencent has used its own corporate venturing experience (in one of the most profitable deals in venture history) from Naspers to set up a $1.5bn Industrial Collaboration fund that can make minority and majority growth equity investments. A fifth of the Tencent fund has been invested in six months.
Of this year’s near-30 launches tracked by Global Corporate Venturing (excluding funds which have partial or whole commitments by companies), two-thirds are by ex-US companies. Last year saw more than 25 launches. The excel tables for subscribers and registered users also avoids venturing programme launches from Nike, Adidas or Schlumberger where no specific fund has been announced but the programme has started.
However, corporate venturing is more nuanced than traditional venture capital firms that have relied on the closed-ended, limited liability partnership of standard 10-year life to raise money, with much activity coming from evergreen programmes (money from exits that is then reinvested) or off the company’s balance sheet in an annual vintage of dealmaking.
Many of the biggest US companies, such as Intel, IBM, Johnson & Johnson or Google, remain large and committed investors in the domestic market, which remains the world’s biggest and this experience – JJDC will be 40 in 2013 – is of incalculable value. This also means a majority of corporate venturing dealflow remains focused on the US market but over time the proportion is likely to fall as fundraising volumes increase elsewhere.
Given its long venturing history, therefore, it would perhaps be more of a surprise if overseas companies failed to overtake US firms in new programme launches. However, the speed of growth in other markets – reminiscent of bubble periods previously seen in the US – is still surprising with more than 50 programme launches in the past 12 months since Global Corporate Venturing started.