Report from Mountside Ventures provides insights from 100+ global CVC investors with over £20 billion in assets under management (AUM) being deployed into over 1,200+ startups and VCs.
Mountside Ventures, Europe’s leading accelerator and early-stage advisory firm, releases the findings of its 2024 ‘Navigating Corporate Venture Capital’ report in partnership with Love Ventures, the early-stage venture capital firm investing in FinTech, Future of Work and ConsumerTech. The annual report provides insights from over 100 global CVC investors with more than £20 billion in assets under management (AUM), deployed into over 1,200 startups and VCs. It was produced in collaboration with Sheridans, Dealroom and FieldHouse Associates.
Since 2010, there has been a notable increase in CVCs participating in deals, growing from 10% to 25% in 2024. According to the report, CVCs are investing more frequently in startups, to access the latest technologies and market trends, ensuring they stay at the forefront of global innovation. Findings also show that founders consider raising capital from a CVC (rather than a traditional VC) if they are seeking access to strategic resources such as unique R&D capabilities, long-term partnerships, exit opportunities and market validation.
CVCs are continuing to invest in tech, with 90% expecting to invest the same amount or more in early-stage companies over the next three years. Following the global trend of VC funding into artificial intelligence (AI), the report shows that around 40% of CVCs invest in B2B companies focused on AI and machine learning. 90% of the respondents invest at the Series A stage. Moreover, 65% of respondents plan to continue investing at the same stage, and 18% plan to invest earlier. This is contrary to market expectations that CVCs predominantly invest at later stages.
A growing trend is for CVCs to invest directly into VCs with one in three investing in VC funds or VC fund-of-funds. The report shows that 83% of CVCs invest this way for enhanced market intelligence, 64% for financial returns and 61% for deal flow for later-stage investments. Not only does this benefit funds in raising capital but also can benefit their portfolio companies due to follow-on potential and strategic partnerships.
Jonathan Hollis, Managing Partner at Mountside Ventures says: “The CVC market is maturing and we’ve seen that over the last few years with the growing number of deals made by large corporates. By combining results from surveying over 100 CVCs actively investing in founders and funds, as well as analysing data on CVC investments over the last 15 years in Europe, we hope this report acts as a playbook for founders and investors alike.”
Adrian Love, General Partner at Love Ventures says: “We think a lot about how we can create the ideal conditions for early-stage startups to thrive and have a growing testbed of what does and doesn’t work well for venture-backed companies. One of the areas we’ve been heavily focussed on is the merits and drawbacks of startups bringing corporates onto their cap tables at the early stage. We are determined to work with this growing pool of capital as we continue to build meaningful relationships with the leading CVCs across Europe & the US who have the potential to turbocharge the growth of our portfolio and others in the tech community.”
Download the full report here.
About Mountside Ventures
Mountside Ventures is Europe’s leading accelerator and award-winning regulated advisory firm. They are the first port of call for founders and investors looking to fundraise.
About Love Ventures
Love Ventures is an emerging venture capital firm that invests in exceptional early-stage tech companies across FinTech, Future of Work and ConsumerTech.
Feature Image by Divya Gupta from Pixabay
