Cut & Run
“Cut & Run” – a cartoon that illustrates how corporate venture capital (CVC) firms are starting to pull back their early stage investing.
In 2020, CVCs invested an all-time high of $73BN in venture funding, participating in 182 mega-rounds (deals worth $100M+).
The figures for 2021 flat-lined and now a new report by KPMG shows a decline, particularly among European CVCs.
One of the primary reasons for this is that any corporate VC firm without its own independently managed fund requires convincing the merits of a new or follow-on investment to the finance team and getting executive sponsorship, both of which are an uphill struggle in a bear market.
However, not all is lost for startups since corporations still realize that they need to keep bringing in technology and talent, so startups with great technology, but depressed valuations, will more likely be hearing from a corporation’s M&A team than their VC arm.
