Established companies investing in startups or building own ventures.
Corporate Venturing refers to the strategic involvement of established companies in startups or the creation of new business units from within. The goal is to gain access to new technologies, markets, or business models without transferring the inertia of the core organization onto the innovation. Corporate Venturing is thus an instrument for conducting exploration outside existing structures.
Two broad forms can be distinguished: external venturing (equity stakes, accelerator programs, strategic investments) and internal venturing (spinning off new ventures within the corporation). Google built Alphabet using the internal approach, where projects like Waymo are run as independent entities. Siemens operates next47 as a venture arm that both invests in external startups and supports internal ventures. The choice of form depends on whether the company primarily wants to learn, profit financially, or strategically develop new business fields.
Governance is critical: ventures need freedom from corporate processes, yet clear expectations for milestones and kill criteria. Without this balance, corporate venturing initiatives frequently fail due to internal resistance or insufficient strategic alignment.
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