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How corporate venture capital de-risks emerging technology development

As the pace of technological change accelerates, corporations are no longer just adapting to disruption — they are actively investing in it. Through their corporate venture capital (CVC) arms, established companies are entering partner-investor relationships with startups across frontier domains such as artificial general intelligence (AGI), humanoid robotics, quantum computing, and other potentially game-changing technologies.

In this post, I’m exploring how corporates are using CVC to de-risk exploration in these emerging tech domains, the competitive advantage of corporate-startup partnerships, which categories are particularly well suited to CVC versus traditional VC, and how emerging-tech startups can best position themselves for CVC investment.

How CVC reduces technology risk for corporations

Corporations face an inherent tension: they need to pursue innovation and new business models, but they also must manage risk, protect core business margins, and maintain operational stability.

That’s why more than 25% of the funding deals last year included CVCs. CVC offers a hybrid path: by investing in and partnering with startups in nascent and emerging technologies, corporates can explore adjacent or disruptive opportunities while externalizing much of the technology risk.

In domains such as AGI, quantum computing, space tech, or next-gen energy storage, the technologies are capital-intensive, have long horizons, involve high technical and commercialization risk, and often require domain-specific assets, manufacturing, regulatory engagement, or ecosystem partnerships. For corporations, investing via CVC is a strategic way to gain early exposure, build optionality, secure technology rights or vantage, and integrate promising startups into their ecosystem — enabling them to stay ahead of both disruptive threats and complementary opportunities.

However, not all companies should invest in all emerging technologies — the key is strategic selectivity, focusing on technologies that could either disrupt their industry or offer complementary capabilities to enhance their competitive position.

CVC is a de-risking engine for corporates exploring emerging tech — it lets them access options in high-uncertainty spaces without the full burden of building in-house, while building strategic alignment with their core business and future growth vectors.

How CVCs reduce technology risk through strategic value creation

While most emerging tech startups will need venture capital funding, nearly all funding deals can benefit significantly from CVC participation. The question isn’t whether corporate venture capital adds value, but rather how CVCs uniquely reduce technology risk for both corporates and startups across different technology categories.

What makes CVC different from traditional VC?

CVC brings strategic value beyond capital: manufacturing capabilities, distribution networks, supply chain access, regulatory expertise, and direct integration pathways. Traditional VC focuses primarily on financial returns and rapid scaling without operational entanglement.

Especially suited for CVC

Best for: Hardware, long horizons, strategic fit, high-capex technologies

  • Hardware + embedded systems (e.g., humanoid robots, advanced compute, quantum computing, next-gen energy storage, nuclear energy) — These domains require supply chain, manufacturing, and integration with existing platforms, often with regulatory or domain-specific partnerships. Corporations with manufacturing or platform assets can add real value. For example, HP Tech Ventures’ investment in EdgeRunner AI demonstrates how corporates can accelerate AI hardware integration. EdgeRunner builds domain-specific, air-gapped, on-device AI agents for military and enterprise applications that operate entirely without internet connectivity. The company’s platform delivers mission-specific AI assistants that ensure low latency, enhanced data privacy, and reduced cloud costs — critical advantages that scale when coupled with AI hardware platforms and edge computing products and expertise. Similarly, Intel Capital’s investment in Rigetti Computing showcases how corporate backing accelerates quantum computing development. Rigetti builds full-stack quantum computers, and Intel’s expertise in chip manufacturing, supply chain access, and deep semiconductor knowledge provides strategic advantages that pure financial investors cannot match, reducing both technical and commercialization risk.
  • Platform or ecosystem technologies (technologies that require broad industry adoption and create value through network effects, such as 6G/hyperconnectivity, clean-tech infrastructure etc.) — Corporates are often deploying or will deploy these platforms themselves, so investing via CVC gives them inside access and optionality.
  • Strategic technology adjacencies for the corporate. For example, if a corporate sees synthetic biology or biotech as a future adjacency to their business, then CVC allows them to explore while leveraging internal capabilities (e.g., R&D, supply chain, global operations).
  • High-capex / long-horizon technologies — Traditional VCs demand high returns within a fixed timeline, but corporates can afford longer horizons if strategic alignment is strong.

Related to the above, trending data show that CVCs have recently been prioritizing AI and Robotics, which exemplify both platform technologies and strategic adjacencies that many corporates are exploring. For example, nearly 30% of CVC deals in 2024 revolved around AI.

HP Tech Ventures’ recent investment in Multiverse Computing — a quantum-inspired AI company that compresses large language models by up to 95% while maintaining performance — exemplifies this trend. Multiverse’s technology addresses a critical infrastructure challenge in AI deployment, enabling models to run on edge devices and dramatically reducing computing costs and energy consumption.

HP’s strategic support helps Multiverse scale this technology across enterprise applications, bringing AI benefits to companies of all sizes.

Making it work for both CVC and startup

In the accelerating wave of frontier technologies — from AGI and quantum computing to next-gen energy storage, synthetic biology, and space tech — the smart corporates will not wait passively. They will deploy their CVC as a strategic lever to access, partner with, and accelerate startups that can redefine their future business models.

How do startups benefit from CVC partnerships?

For startups operating in these domains, the path to growth means not just securing capital, but forging the right strategic partnerships: ones that bring scale, integration, and access to a corporate ecosystem that would otherwise take years to build.

For HP Tech Ventures, this means offering portfolio companies access to HP’s world-class technology, one of the world’s largest channel and distribution partner networks, and a vast global manufacturing and supply chain — resources that help startups scale rapidly and achieve significant market impact.

Emerging tech sectors alignment

From humanoid robots to synthetic biology, the next wave of innovation is rewriting the boundaries of what’s possible — and CVCs are uniquely positioned to shape that future. The following table maps how each major emerging-tech sector aligns with corporate venture capital, and what founders should keep in mind as they navigate this evolving landscape.

What should founders consider when pursuing CVC?

By aligning technology, business model, partner strategy, and timing, both corporations and startups can ride the emerging-tech wave with lower risk and higher impact.

If you’re a startup in one of these frontier domains and are thinking about CVC, ask yourself: Which corporations in my value chain have scale, distribution, or manufacturing that could accelerate me? How much risk are they willing to take? Am I ready for strategic integration?

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How Corporate Venture Capital is Reshaping Innovation

The corporate venture capital landscape is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by evolving economic conditions, new organizational models, and the increasing convergence of internal R&D with external innovation partnerships.

As we navigate through 2025, the data tells a compelling story of how CVCs are not just adapting to change but actively reshaping the innovation ecosystem.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: CVC’s Growing Influence

The momentum behind corporate venture capital continues to accelerate. Global CVC-backed funding reached $65.9B, a 20% YoY increase in 2024. More telling is that CVCs made up 28% of all active investors in 2024, with a shift toward strategic early-stage investing rather than concentration in large late-stage rounds.

This shift represents more than just increased funding. It signals a strategic evolution in how corporations approach innovation.

New CVC Models Emerging in 2025

The Rise of Corporate Venture Studios

The traditional CVC model of pure investment is giving way to more hands-on approaches. Venture studios combine the entrepreneurial spirit of creating new ventures with the scale and resources of corporations. This hybrid model is particularly attractive to corporations seeking deeper control over innovation outcomes.

Corporations across industries are adopting venture studio models to create new businesses from scratch, while leveraging their existing capabilities and market positions.

Accelerator Programs with Strategic Focus

Corporate accelerator programs have evolved into strategic alliances that provide startups with frameworks for growth, product innovation, and market access, rather than just funding and mentorship.

These programs are becoming more sector-specific and deeply integrated with corporate strategic objectives. Companies are using accelerators not just to scout for external innovation, but to create systematic pathways for bringing that innovation into their core business operations.

Innovation Partnership Platforms

A new model emerging in 2025 involves corporations creating comprehensive innovation platforms that combine multiple touchpoints — venture capital, accelerators, partnership programs, and even acquisition vehicles — under unified strategic frameworks. This approach allows for more flexible engagement with startups at different stages of maturity and alignment. An example of this would be the Microsoft for Startups program, which includes a founder’s hub, investor network, regional accelerators, and strategic partnerships.

Economic Shifts Reshaping CVC Strategies

The macroeconomic environment has fundamentally altered how both VCs and CVCs operate right now, with more selective investments emphasizing strategic value, lean models, and clear pathways to profitability. Yet CVCs still maintain their more holistic strategic views of their investments.

Strategic Value Over Pure Returns

Unlike traditional VCs focused primarily on financial returns, CVCs are increasingly prioritizing strategic value creation. This shift has several implications:

  • Portfolio Construction: CVCs are building portfolios that complement and enhance their core business capabilities, rather than pursuing maximum financial diversification.
  • Investment Timelines: Corporate investors can afford longer development cycles when investments align with strategic objectives, providing crucial runway for deep-tech and complex innovation projects.
  • Market Validation: CVCs can offer startups immediate access to enterprise customers and market validation opportunities that traditional VCs cannot provide.

While traditional VCs face pressure for quick returns as markets recover, CVCs may be better positioned to take advantage of the strategic opportunities created by market dislocations.

The Blurring Lines: Internal R&D Meets External Innovation

The most significant transformation in corporate innovation is the dissolution of boundaries between internal R&D and external venture partnerships. This convergence is creating new models of collaborative innovation that leverage the best of both approaches.

Integrated Innovation Ecosystems

Modern corporations are creating innovation ecosystems where internal teams work directly with portfolio companies, sharing resources, expertise, and market access.

This integration goes far beyond traditional corporate-startup partnerships:

  • Shared Technology Platforms: Portfolio companies gain access to proprietary corporate platforms and APIs, while corporations benefit from rapid external innovation cycles.
  • Cross-Pollination of Talent: Employees move between corporate R&D teams and portfolio companies, creating knowledge transfer and cultural bridges.
  • Collaborative Product Development: Joint development projects between corporate teams and startups are becoming more common, leading to products that neither could create independently.

Toyota Open Labs is an open innovation platform that connects startups with various business units across the Toyota ecosystem to drive the future of mobility. The program focuses on key areas such as energy, circular economy, carbon neutrality, smart communities, and inclusive mobility.

From Venture Capital to Innovation Capital

This integration is leading to a new category that transcends traditional venture capital — innovation capital. This approach combines:

  • Financial investment with a strategic partnership
  • Technology licensing with joint development
  • Market access with co-innovation
  • Talent exchange with knowledge transfer

CVC-Driven Innovation Breakthroughs

AI and Machine Learning Revolution

Generative AI funding continues to grow rapidly, with funding in the first half of 2025 already surpassing the 2024 total. According to Bain & Company, Software and AI companies now account for around 45% of VC funding. Corporate venture arms have been particularly active in this space, not just as investors but as strategic partners providing data, compute resources, and enterprise distribution channels.

One notable example is the collaboration between corporate CVCs and AI startups. Examples of this include Salesforce investment in Anthropic, Microsoft’s investment in Databricks, and HP’s investment in EdgeRunner AI. These partnerships leverage corporate scale and customer access while benefiting from startup agility and innovation capabilities.

New Success Metrics

CVCs will increasingly measure success through strategic impact metrics rather than purely financial returns, tracking portfolio companies’ contributions to core business growth, new market creation, and competitive advantage.

The Innovation Imperative

Corporate venture capital is no longer just an investment strategy — it’s become a core component of corporate innovation infrastructure. The companies that succeed in leveraging CVC effectively will be those that view it not as a separate activity, but as an integral part of their innovation and growth strategies.

The data from 2024 and early 2025 clearly show that CVCs are not just surviving economic uncertainty, but thriving by offering startups something traditional VCs cannot: immediate access to enterprise customers, operational expertise, and strategic partnerships that can accelerate growth and market adoption.

For corporations, the message is clear: in an era of accelerating technological change, external innovation partnerships through CVC are essential for staying competitive and relevant. The question is not whether to engage in corporate venture capital, but how deeply to integrate it into your innovation strategy.

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Driving Strategic Value through Corporate Venture Capital

Since 2014, corporate venture capital (CVC) has participated in over 21% of venture capital deals with 46% of total VC deal value. Yet, according to PitchBook the number of CVC-backed companies their CVC investors eventually acquired has remained below 4%.

If mergers and acquisitions (M&A) aren’t the primary drivers of the active CVC landscape, what motivates companies worldwide to invest in startups?

Investing for strategic advantage

As the world of technology has continued to flourish and startup companies have emerged as drivers of innovation and markets, larger corporations have looked for ways to tap into the startup and venture communities to drive new business growth and stay competitive. Corporate venture capital allows companies to look beyond their core business to explore and drive future growth opportunities.

Unlike traditional venture capital firms, in many cases CVCs invest strategically to align with their parent company’s long-term goals. These investments drive market and technology insights and help foster strategic partnerships that provide startups with access to enterprise resources—such as distribution channels, marketing, and manufacturing—while allowing corporations to stay ahead of industry trends and technological advancements.

Value creation

As HP’s corporate venture arm, HP Tech Ventures focuses on three key areas of value creation:

  1. Strategic Investments—HP Tech Ventures invests in startups aligned with our corporate strategy to drive insights, deepen commercial relationships, strengthen HP’s market position, and hedge against future industry shifts. These investments aim to drive growth while also delivering financial returns.
  2. Startup Partnerships—Supporting commercial partnerships with startups complements HP’s R&D efforts, helping to fill technology gaps and enhance product differentiation.
  3. Startup and Venture Insights—Investing in startups provides HP valuable insights into emerging markets and disruptive technologies. By leveraging these insights, HP can refine its strategy and remain at the forefront of industry innovation.

Example: creating value in Healthcare

HP’s investment and partnership with Adaptiiv led to the development of 3D-printed, personalized accessories for cancer radiation treatments, enabling more precise and consistent radiation dosage.

Example: creating value in Retail

HP’s investment and partnership with AiFi is enabling game-changing retail experiences. AiFi’s autonomous checkout solution is powered by AI computer vision and demonstrates what happens when technology and retail converge to really deliver on what the customer wants: convenience, speed, ease, and a more informed, personalized shopping experience. AiFi’s solution leverages the HP Engage Express and HP Z Workstations to power its next generation retail experience.

Tapping into trends

Strategic investing also offers corporations a way to tap into trends and innovations early. Investing in startups developing new technologies and business models in emerging areas allow companies to stay ahead of customer demand and position themselves for competitive success.  A great example of this is the staggering number of AI Funds created over the past few years by corporations.  From Google’s launch of Gradient back in 2017 to Cisco’s $1B AI fund established in 2024 there is ongoing, deep corporate investing in this emerging area.  In 2024, AI alone accounted for 37% of CVC-backed funding and 21% of CVC deals.

Shaping your future through investment

Long-term growth and adaptability in a rapidly changing world require companies to develop diverse strategic capabilities. Engaging with the startup ecosystem has become a crucial component of corporate success. HP Tech Ventures is dedicated to this mission, using startup investing as a strategic tool to drive innovation and enable future growth.

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