The number of corporations strategically investing in private companies has enjoyed an upward trend in recent years, across industries including healthcare, media, finance, and energy.
In Q1’15, 106 different corporate venture capital arms (CVCs) completed a US investment — a multi-year high. That’s an 82% jump from the same quarter three years ago, according to CB Insights data. There was a slight dip to 100 CVCs making a US investment in Q2’15.
The most active corporate VCs
Despite a deal slowdown in 2015, Google Ventures tops the list of most active CVC investors over the last four quarters with over 60 new and follow-on deals.
Tech corporations dominate the top slots on the list, with Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and Salesforce Ventures joining Google Ventures in the top four.
Healthcare-focused CVCs are well-represented among the top 20 most active. The healthcare players include Novartis Venture Funds, Pfizer Venture Investments and Lilly Ventures among others.
| Rank | CVC Investor |
|---|---|
| 1 | Google Ventures |
| 2 | Intel Capital |
| 3 | Qualcomm Ventures |
| 4 | Salesforce Ventures |
| 5 | Comcast Ventures |
| 6 | Fidelity Biosciences |
| 6 | GE Ventures |
| 8 | Bloomberg Beta |
| 8 | Novartis Venture Funds |
| 10 | Cisco Investments |
| 11 | Samsung Ventures |
| 12 | In-Q-Tel |
| 13 | Microsoft Ventures |
| 14 | Pfizer Venture Investments |
| 14 | Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments |
| 14 | Lilly Ventures |
| 17 | Siemens Venture Capital |
| 17 | Hearst Ventures |
| 17 | Merck Global Health Innovation Fund |
| 20 | Kaiser Permanente Ventures |
| 20 | DG Incubation |
| 20 | Verizon Ventures |
| 20 | Citi Ventures |
| 20 | Mitsui & Co. Global Investment |
Below is the list of 117 active corporate venture arms in the last four quarters.
| 1-39 | 40-78 | 79-117 |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ventures | Renren Lianhe Holdings | Monsanto Growth Ventures |
| Intel Capital | MedImmune Ventures | Link-age Ventures |
| Qualcomm Ventures | Total Energy Ventures International | T-Venture |
| Salesforce Ventures | Baxter Ventures | Aster Capital |
| Comcast Ventures | NTT DoCoMo Ventures | Adobe Ventures |
| Fidelity Biosciences | Telstra Ventures | MassMutual Ventures |
| GE Ventures | Rakuten Ventures | Telefonica Ventures |
| Bloomberg Beta | WuXi Corporate Venture Fund | E.ON Venture Partners |
| Novartis Venture Funds | Chevron Technology Ventures | First Data Ventures |
| Cisco Investments | Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures | Rex Health Ventures |
| Samsung Ventures | Constellation Technology Ventures | DSM Venturing |
| In-Q-Tel | American Family Ventures | Robert Bosch Venture Capital |
| Microsoft Ventures | Credit Suisse NEXT Investors | Volvo Group Venture Capital |
| Pfizer Venture Investments | American Express Ventures | Xandex Investments |
| Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments | Reed Elsevier Ventures | ICG Ventures |
| Lilly Ventures | Syngenta Ventures | Astellas Venture Management |
| Siemens Venture Capital | Sanofi-Genzyme Ventures | Motorola Solutions Venture Capital |
| Hearst Ventures | Karlani Capital | Follett Knowledge Fund |
| Merck Global Health Innovation Fund | SingTel Innov8 | Applied Ventures |
| Kaiser Permanente Ventures | kbs+ Ventures | Boxer Capital |
| DG Incubation | Hewlett-Packard Ventures | Legend Capital |
| Verizon Ventures | Liquidity Ventures | SanDisk Ventures |
| Citi Ventures | Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator | Broadway Video Ventures |
| Mitsui & Co. Global Investment | Fosun Kinzon Capital | MemorialCare Innovation Fund |
| SR One | Simon Venture Group | Twitter Ventures |
| Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation | MS Ventures | GREE Ventures |
| CAA Ventures | BP Ventures | UMC Capital |
| Roche Venture Fund | dunnhumby Ventures | Shea Ventures |
| Ascension Ventures | Takeda Ventures | Brace Pharma Capital |
| Dell Ventures | GM Ventures | Merck Research Ventures Fund |
| Google Capital | Transamerica Ventures | Axel Springer Digital Vetures |
| Recruit Strategic Partners | BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners | Castrol innoVentures |
| Liberty Global Ventures | UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund | WPP Digital |
| Presidio Ventures | Fletcher Spaght Ventures | Geekdom Fund |
| BBVA Ventures | Western Digital Capital | R/GA Ventures |
| Time Warner Investments | Boulder Brands Investment Group | Steamboat Ventures |
| Amgen Ventures | Zaffre Investments | BMW i Ventures |
| Novo Ventures | DMG Information | SABIC Ventures |
| KDDI Open Innovation Fund | TELUS Ventures | Nissay Capital |
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