Corporate Venture Deal Numbers Are Down Despite Big AI Headlines

It seems every time a large generative AI company raises billions of dollars, one of the Big Tech pillars such as Nvidia, Microsoft or Google is leading the round.

However, a look at Crunchbase data shows something surprising — corporate venture investments were actually down throughout the past two years.

More than two-thirds of the way through 2024, U.S.-based CVC arms and corporations have participated in only 1,385 deals — about on pace with last year but down significantly from 2022.

The data shows not just that deal count is down, but so are rounds led or co-led by a big U.S.-based CVC or corporation.

Deals down everywhere

The data seems to contradict the headlines today. After all, two of the biggest rounds raised this year were led by a large corporation: Alphabet’s $5 billion investment into autonomous vehicle tech developer Waymo, and Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games.

While it is true there have been huge rounds solely backed by a corporate investor, overall deal flow numbers are down.

Aside from the total number of rounds CVC or corporations have participated in being down, the number at different stages also is down.

For early-stage deals — defined here as Series A and B — CVCs and corporations have taken part in only 489 deals, while last year they consummated more than 700.

It is almost an identical picture for CVCs and corporations participating in later-stage rounds — Series C and beyond — with only 190 such deals completed through mid-September. Last year, those groups took part in 270 such rounds.

Leaders

Even with the numbers being down, it is still worthwhile to see who’s leading in corporate investment deal count — and not shockingly, the numbers show it’s those who are very interested in AI.

Google Ventures, or GV — whose AI investments we have discussed previously — has taken part in the largest number of rounds so far this year, participating in 46 and leading or co-leading nearly two dozen, according to Crunchbase data. Large rounds it has led or co-led include those for biotech firm Santa Ana Bio, data observability startup Cribl, and AI legal tech firm Harvey. While it is likely GV will match or exceed the 62 deals it took part in last year, it is unlikely to match the 102 deals it consummated less than two years ago.

Coinbase Ventures is next on the list with 30 deals consummated this year — well off the 111 deals it completed in 2022. However, that is to be expected as crypto funding has declined significantly from the highs in 2021 and 2022. Samsung Next has made 27 deals — on pace with last year’s 34 but well below the 73 rounds it took part in 2022.

Salesforce Ventures 1 is fourth on the list and just made headlines recently when it announced it would double the size of its AI commitments, which now totals $1 billion.

Salesforce’s venture arm has taken part in 26 deals this year and has led or co-led nine deals (tied for third-most among CVCs/corporations). It participated in Cohere’s huge $500 million Series D raised at a $5.5 billion valuation in July. It also led a massive $106 million round for Menlo Park, California-based Together — which has developed a cloud platform to allow developers to build on open and custom AI models — at a $1.25 billion valuation in March.

Rounding out the top five most-active CVCs or corporations in the U.S. is Nvidia — one of the most-active investors in AI specifically. It is the only corporate investor or CVC in the top five whose deal count this year surpasses that of 2022. Nvidia already has invested in 21 rounds this year, compared to only nine in 2022. Last year, it participated in 30 deals.

The chip giant took part in both the previously mentioned Cohere and Together rounds, as well as large rounds for the likes of Mistral AI, Scale AI and Cohesity.

What gives?

While it is undoubtedly true CVCs and corporations in the U.S. have made splashy billion-dollar deals in sectors like gaming, autonomous driving and — obviously — AI, it does not seem they are making more deals overall.

We have written before that a larger share of U.S. startup investment has come from rounds solely backed by a corporate investor. However, it doesn’t mean those entities are participating in more deals (nor does it necessarily mean they are investing more capital when taking into consideration deals they participate in with other investors).

Big Tech — and their investment arms — just seem to be getting our attention a little bit more.

Methodology

Numbers are based on data pulled on Sept. 13, 2024.

The numbers are based on investors with CVC or those with no investor type which means they are companies rather than investors. If an investor is missing an investor type they would be included here and might misrepresent the data.

Related reading:

• Microsoft, Nvidia Lead In Investing In AI Startups, But Others Close Behind
• Salesforce Ventures Doubles Down Again On AI
• Cohere Raises $500M At $5.5B Valuation
• Corporate Funding Rounds Account For Larger Share Of Venture Investment

Illustration: Dom Guzman