The venture capital boom of 2021 was not built from merely traditional VC money. A host of other capital sources played a role in the global trend, from new methods of disbursing angel and seed capital to crossover funds pouring into late-stage startups. And amid all the noise, record-setting totals, and rapid-fire dealmaking, corporate venture investors were busy, investing gobs of parent-company cash into far-smaller concerns.
Corporate venture capital, or CVC for short, is the method by which wealthy businesses build their own investing arm. Traditionally, these efforts blend strategic goals (M&A, early access to technology, partnerships) and financial ones (returns). The exact mix varies by company and CVC effort, but it’s rare to find a corporate venture concern that has none of one or the other. This makes their investing an interesting blend of traditional venture and corporate opportunism.
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