Amid the venture industry’s funding slowdown in 2022, nontraditional investors like hedge funds and private equity firms ran for the hills. Many assumed that corporate venture capital funds would, too — but they didn’t.
These strategic backers remained consistent in 2022 and, according to PitchBook data, actually increased their presence in venture deals. In 2022, CVCs participated in 26.2% of venture deals, up only a hair over 2021’s 25.6%. While this isn’t a meaningful change by any means, it does stand out because every other category of crossover investor participated less in 2022 than in 2021.
While regular venture firm fundraising isn’t expected to be particularly robust this year — and funding overall has continued to slump so far — there are signs that corporate venture capital will remain a steady source of funds in 2023.
Scott Lenet, the co-founder and president of Touchdown Ventures, which helps corporations set up their CVCs, told TechCrunch+ that the firm is getting more inbound than ever from corporations looking to start a fund of their own.
The volatility of the last few years has led to more funds looking to deploy capital, which should be welcome news to startups. Plus, getting the backing of an investor who isn’t tied to a specific fund lifecycle in an uncertain exit environment definitely has its appeal.