Global Midwest Alliance Corporate Venture Capital Industry Forum

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Globalization and market forces have increased the pace of competition for corporations. Corporate giants who were once the leaders of innovation have fallen and new, more nimble upstarts have not only taken market share, but also have developed new, unheard of markets. Corporate venture capital – or CVC for short – is the investment of corporate funds directly in external startup companies.

Leading companies have realized that they no longer have a monopoly on smart people. To deliver results, they have focused on engaging with external innovation and CVC’s are a key part of their strategy.

According to a 2021 report, The State of CVC, commissioned by Silicon Valley Bank and and Counterpart Ventures, the universe of active global CVCs grew roughly six and a half times between 2010 and 2020, and more than 4,000 global CVC funds exist. Global CVC-backed funding has already surpassed the prior record set in 2020 of $74 billion, and in the first six months of 2021, CVC funding reached $79 billion. After substantial growth in the number of global CVCs, the active number plateaued in 2020 and dipped slightly in 2021. However, this has not impacted the number of deals in which CVCs participated in, with 2021 being on track to be the highest for a decade.

This growth is driven by CVC participation in mega rounds, typically defined as $100 million or more. CVCs were invested in 42% of M&A targets in 2020. This figure has been rising slowly since 2010, when it reached 33%. CVCs were invested in over half the U.S. VC-backed tech IPO’s of the last decade. In recent years, this involvement has been as high as three quarters of all US VC-backed tech IPOs.

Today, CVC exists as a subset of venture capital investment and is about setting up structural collaborations with external ventures or parties to drive mutual growth. These external ventures are startups, also referred to as early-stage companies, or scale-up companies, which are those that have found a product and/or market fit that come from outside the organization.

CVC is helping identify innovations that create the future the world needs, bringing these innovations to partners who help deliver success and are then able to leverage the innovation to drive significant value, crating a win-win for all. CVC’s are now providing significant leverage to corporations, helping fill innovation gaps and delivering real value.

If you would like more information about partnering with us on upcoming programs and sponsorships available with the CVC industry sector, please contact us at

[email protected].

Corporate Venture Capital Industry Program Sponsors