August 07, 2025
When people think of venture capital, they immediately rattle off the usual suspects: Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Accel.
That’s fine.
But if you stop there, you’re missing the biggest shift happening in the venture world right now.
Here’s the punchline: corporate venture capital (CVC) now accounts for 45% of all VC deals. That’s nearly half the market, yet most people barely talk about it.
It’s time to change that.
CVCs aren’t just writing checks. They’re defining what’s next.
In this article we’re going to be discussing corporate venture capital. By the end of this, you’ll have a better understanding of why it matters more than ever and why you should be paying close attention.
Corporate Venture Capital refers to direct equity investments made by large companies into startups. Unlike traditional VCs, which aim for financial returns alone, CVCs often invest with strategic intent looking to gain early access to innovation, build partnerships, or open acquisition paths.
You’ve heard of these names:
And the list goes on across industries from tech to healthcare, energy, retail, manufacturing, and financial services.
This is serious capital backed by serious industry intent.
Let’s cut through the noise. Here’s what makes corporate venture capital a weapon of mass innovation:
1. Scale and Reach
CVCs aren’t dabbling anymore. In 2024, they were in nearly half of all VC deals. They’re in the room, co-investing with top-tier funds, shaping the future.
2. Strategic Signal
If a Fortune 500 backs a startup, it means something. It says: "We think this solves a real problem." For deal professionals, that’s a shortcut to spotting aligned, scalable innovation.
3. High-Conviction Capital
CVCs invest where they have domain expertise, operational insight, and integration pathways. That means stickier partnerships and fewer tourist investors.
4. Exit Pathways
CVCs are often the first domino in an M&A chain. Want to build something that gets acquired? Pay attention to who’s investing.
5. Industry Intel
You want to know where a sector is heading? Track the bets the corporations are making. CVCs are under the radar, but over the target.
Despite their growing presence, corporate VCs operate with far less media hype than Sand Hill Road firms. They’re quieter by design, but no less influential.
Founders: Don’t just chase Sand Hill money. Strategic capital can be your unfair advantage – distribution, product validation, even go-to-market acceleration.
Investors: Watch where CVCs are placing bets. These investments are roadmaps to future trends and acquisition opportunities.
Deal Sourcers: Companies backed by CVCs are often better vetted, more strategically aligned, and have a higher chance of long-term success.
Amazon: Strategic Venture Initiatives
Amazon has taken a multi-pronged approach to corporate venture capital, backing both foundational AI companies and technologies that enhance its core logistics and fulfillment operations. Through direct investments and dedicated funds, Amazon is shaping the future of compute and commerce infrastructure.
Anthropic – A generative AI company and creator of the Claude language model. Amazon has committed over $4 billion to Anthropic, making it the company’s largest external venture investment to date and a strategic partner for AWS’s AI cloud services.
Instock (via the Industrial Innovation Fund) – A robotics company that builds automated storage and retrieval systems for warehouses. It represents Amazon’s broader push into logistics automation through its $1 billion Industrial Innovation Fund, launched in 2022.
Chipotle: Cultivate Next
Chipotle’s venture arm, Cultivate Next, was launched in 2022 with an initial $50 million fund (later expanded to $100 million) to invest in innovations that align with its mission to “Cultivate a Better World.” The fund targets areas like supply chain efficiency, sustainable agriculture, and future-forward restaurant models.
GreenField Robotics – Builds AI-powered, autonomous farming robots that support soil health and sustainable agriculture.
Local Line – A digital platform that helps restaurants source local food directly from farms, improving transparency and strengthening regional supply chains.
Target: Target Accelerators
While Target doesn’t operate a traditional venture capital fund, it runs Target Accelerators, a suite of programs designed to support early-stage consumer brands through mentorship, retail strategy, and pilot opportunities. These accelerators help Target identify innovative products and services aligned with evolving consumer trends.
Partake Foods – A woman- and Black-owned food company offering allergen-free cookies and snacks. Through the accelerator, Partake secured national shelf space at Target, helping expand its reach and visibility in the natural food space.
Dyper – A sustainable diaper startup that produces compostable diapers and offers a recurring delivery model. Dyper participated in the Target Takeoff sustainability program, aligning with Target’s ESG and wellness commitments.
Apple: Strategic Fund Commitments
Apple doesn’t operate a traditional venture capital arm like some corporations, but it does make selective strategic investments and fund commitments that align with its AI, diversity, sustainability, and supply-chain ambitions.
Minority Business VC Funds – In 2023, Apple committed $50 million to venture capital funds (Collab Capital, Harlem Capital, and VamosVentures) that support underrepresented founders and diverse entrepreneurs.
Offline Ventures (Anchor Investment) – Apple anchored a $100 million debut fund for Offline Ventures, which focuses on early-stage startups in web3, consumer tech, sustainability, neurological health, and women's health.
Google: (formerly Google Ventures)
GV (formerly Google Ventures) serves as the strategic venture arm of Alphabet Inc., founded in 2009. Unlike traditional corporate venture funds, GV invests across life sciences, healthcare, and digital technologies—with deep operational support that extends beyond just capital.
Uber – GV backed Uber during its early growth stages, contributing to its scaling into a global ride-hailing leader.
Nest Labs – GV made a pivotal early-stage investment in Nest, which later led to Nest's acquisition by Alphabet, underscoring GV's ability to spot strategic innovation aligned with its parent company’s ecosystem.
Corporate venture capital is the hidden engine of modern innovation—strategic, scaled, and under appreciated. At nearly 45% of all VC activity, it’s time to stop thinking of CVC as niche. It’s central.
If you want to understand the future of any industry, follow where the corporations are placing their early bets.
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Gui Costin is the Founder and CEO of Dakota.
