Corporate VCs are venture capital divisions within large corporations that invest in innovative startups aligned with the parent company's business goals. Corporate VCs are an increasingly important source of startup funding, with over 1,300 currently globally. They invest to gain access to emerging technologies and talent relevant to their industry. For example, Google Ventures and Salesforce Ventures focus on AI, cloud, and software startups. Corporate VCs invest via the parent's balance sheet rather than traditional VC fundraising. They can provide strategic advantages to portfolio companies beyond just capital, like access to the parent's resources, partners, and customers. Startups view corporate VCs as a stamp of validation while corporations get valuable visibility into disruptive innovations and acquisition targets. Corporate VCs pursue financial returns like traditional VCs, but strategic alignment with the parent company's interests is a higher priority in their investment decisions.
As private equity adapts to a prolonged high-cost environment, investors are being forced to rethink how they source deals, create value, and deploy capital. Ahead of her appearance at 0100 Europe (April 21–23), we spoke with Geraldine O’Keeffe, Partner at EQT Healthcare Growth, about how one of Europe’s leading investment platforms is transiting today’s market dynamics—across healthcare, technology, and beyond.
