Investor types

Corporate investors and corporate venture capital

Corporate investors take minority stakes in private companies, either directly or through a dedicated corporate venture capital (CVC) unit, for strategic as well as financial return. This page sets out how much corporates invest, where the money goes and how CVC differs from independent venture capital and from acquisitions.

What corporate venture capital is

Corporate venture capital is minority equity investment by an operating company in private, usually young, companies. The corporation may invest directly from its balance sheet or through a dedicated CVC unit with its own team. The aim is typically both a financial return and a strategic benefit, such as access to a technology, a commercial partnership, a future supplier or a possible acquisition target.

CVC differs from strategic M&A, where the same corporations buy control of a business and consolidate it, and from independent venture capital firms, which invest third-party capital raised from limited partners and are judged on financial return alone. It also differs from minority investment by private equity firms, which invest through funds with a fixed life.

Scale: global and by region

Measures of corporate venture activity differ widely with method. Global Corporate Venturing (GCV), which counts every round in which a corporation took part, reported that corporate-backed funding rounds reached US$133 billion in 2024, up 20% on the previous year, and that the number of corporations investing in venture rose from 688 in 2014 to 2,344 in 2024, according to a SETsquared report of 25 June 2025.¹ GCV estimated that corporate investors take part in about one in every six start-up deals.¹

On the narrower CB Insights measure, CVC-backed funding was US$18.7 billion across 728 deals in Q1 2025, down 22% quarter on quarter.² In Q2 2025 CVC-backed investment totalled US$17 billion across 742 deals, down 8% quarter on quarter and the weakest performance since Q1 2018.³ Global Venturing recorded 1,215 corporate-backed startup funding rounds in Q1 2025 raising US$85.9 billion where the value was disclosed.⁴

By region, US startups captured 70% of global CVC-backed funding in Q1 2025, or US$13.1 billion. Europe took 19% (US$3.5 billion) and Asia 9% (US$1.6 billion).² Swiss corporations run their own venture units, among them Novartis and Swisscom, listed in the examples table below.

Structures and sub-types

Corporate investing takes several forms. An in-house CVC unit invests the parent's balance sheet capital under a dedicated team. A dedicated fund is set up as a separate vehicle, with the parent as the main or only limited partner, and some such funds also accept capital from external investors. A balance sheet strategic stake is taken directly by the corporation, often by its business development or M&A team, without a separate venture unit. Some corporations also run venture builders, which develop and spin out new companies from the parent's own technology, and some commit capital as limited partners to independent venture funds.

Bank-affiliated venture arms, common in Japan, are a further category: Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and SMBC Venture Capital were among the most active CVCs in Q1 2025.²

Source of capital and investment horizon

CVC capital comes from the corporate balance sheet, so the amount available depends on the parent's profits, strategy and appetite for risk rather than on fundraising from investors. Because there is no fund life, a corporate investor is not obliged to sell within a set period, but its programme can be resized or closed if the parent's priorities, management or earnings change. Where that happens, existing stakes usually remain but follow-on funding may stop, which is why start-ups commonly look for independent venture investors in the same rounds.

How corporate investors invest

Corporate investors usually join rounds led by independent venture capital firms, and increasingly invest alongside one another. Deals involving three or more CVCs reached a record 32% of CVC deals in Q2 2025.³ Equity investments are often accompanied by commercial agreements, such as joint development or distribution agreements, between the start-up and the parent. Corporations also invest alongside financial investors in the largest rounds: Alphabet and Thrive Capital backed Isomorphic Labs' US$600 million round in Q1 2025.⁴

Artificial intelligence draws the largest cheques. AI start-ups captured a record 37% of CVC-backed funding and 21% of CVC-backed deals in 2024, according to CB Insights data cited by PwC in June 2025,⁵ and secured 7 of the top 10 CVC deals worldwide in Q1 2025.²

Typical ticket sizes

CVC participation spans seed rounds to late-stage rounds of several hundred million dollars, and corporate investors usually take a minority stake well short of control. CB Insights reported that, despite fewer deals, median CVC-backed deal sizes in Q2 2025 reached their highest levels since 2021, which it read as corporations concentrating capital in fewer, higher-conviction deals.³

How decisions are made and how long they take

Opportunities are usually sourced by the CVC team, which works with the heads of the relevant business units to test whether the company fits the parent's strategy. The team carries out technical, commercial and financial due diligence, often alongside the round's other investors, and submits the proposal to an investment committee that typically includes senior finance and technology executives and business unit heads. Because both the venture team and the business units must support an investment, corporate decisions can take longer than those of an independent venture firm.

What corporate investors look for and why they decline

Corporate investors look for strategic fit with the parent's products and plans, the opportunity to work with the company as a customer or partner and the presence of strong independent investors in the round. The deal data show the direction of corporate interest: AI companies took most of the largest CVC deals in Q1 2025,² and median deal sizes rose while deal counts fell.³

Corporate investors commonly decline where the start-up's product would compete directly with the parent's own, where there are conflicts over intellectual property or where founders are unwilling to share information. Start-ups, in turn, often resist terms such as commercial exclusivity or a right of first refusal over a future sale, which can deter other buyers.

Regulation and governance

Corporate minority investments may fall within foreign direct investment screening regimes where the investor is foreign and the company operates in a sensitive sector such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors or quantum computing. Accounting rules determine whether a stake is consolidated, equity-accounted or held at fair value, which affects how the investment appears in the parent's results. Many corporate investors take board observer rights rather than full board seats to limit conflicts between their duties to the parent and to the start-up.

Trends in 2025 and 2026

Corporate venture activity fell in the first half of 2025, with CB Insights describing Q2 2025 as the weakest quarter since Q1 2018.³ It then rose sharply. According to Eqvista, publishing on 31 March 2026, CVC activity surged to US$44.1 billion in Q3 2025, a 112% increase on Q2, and corporate VC-participating investment globally reached US$77 billion in Q4 2025, of which US$52.1 billion was in the United States.⁶ Eqvista's methodology was not stated, so these figures are not directly comparable with the CB Insights series.

Notable examples

Investor	Headquarters	Size or activity
GV (Alphabet)	San Francisco Bay Area	Over US$13 billion of assets under management, as stated on its website in October 2026;⁷ most active CVC in Q1 2025, with 17 companies backed²
Novartis Venture Fund	Basel and Cambridge, Massachusetts	Over US$750 million of committed capital, as stated on its website in October 2026⁸
Swisscom Ventures	Bern	CHF 225 million under management plus CHF 375 million under advisory, according to its SECA member profile, October 2026⁹
TDK Ventures	San Jose, California	US$500 million of assets under management, as stated on its website in October 2026¹⁰
Mitsubishi UFJ Capital	Tokyo	15 companies backed in Q1 2025²
SMBC Venture Capital	Tokyo	15 companies backed in Q1 2025²

The table is not a ranking and implies no recommendation.

How advisers work with corporate investors

Corporate investors are usually approached as part of a company's wider fundraising, most often at later stages, alongside independent venture capital and growth investors. An adviser presents the opportunity both as an investment and as a commercial relationship, and works with the corporation's venture team and business unit heads to secure support from both. The same corporation may later become a buyer in a sale process, which is why sellers take care over any rights granted at the investment stage.

Anglo-Suisse Capital advises on capital raising, M&A and secondary transactions with professional investors.

Frequently asked questions

How much do corporations invest in start-ups?

Global Corporate Venturing reported that corporate-backed funding rounds reached US$133 billion in 2024, up 20%, with 2,344 corporations investing.¹ On the narrower CB Insights measure, CVC-backed funding was US$17 billion across 742 deals in Q2 2025.³

Where does corporate venture money go?

Increasingly to AI. AI start-ups captured 37% of CVC-backed funding in 2024⁵ and 7 of the top 10 CVC deals worldwide in Q1 2025.²

Do corporate investors invest alongside each other?

Increasingly. Deals involving three or more CVCs reached a record 32% in Q2 2025.³

Is corporate venture capital mostly a US activity?

Largely. US startups captured 70% of global CVC-backed funding in Q1 2025, against 19% for Europe and 9% for Asia.²

Which Asian corporate investors are active?

Japanese bank-affiliated venture arms. Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and SMBC Venture Capital each backed 15 companies in Q1 2025.²

Do corporate investors take board seats?

Many take board observer rights rather than full board seats, to limit conflicts between their duties to the parent and to the start-up.

How does corporate venture capital differ from an acquisition?

A CVC investment is a minority stake; an acquisition gives the corporation control. See industrial and strategic acquirers.

Working with Anglo-Suisse Capital

Anglo-Suisse Capital advises companies, fund managers and shareholders on capital raising, M&A and secondary transactions with professional investors in the UK, Switzerland and internationally.

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Sources

This page is general information for professional investors and is not investment advice. Figures are taken from the sources listed, as at the dates stated.