Corporates are not just writing cheques: the new CVC toolkit in 2026

In its World of Corporate Venturing 2026 series, Global Corporate Venturing said corporate venturing hit a record high in 2025, with more than 3,000 companies investing directly in startups even as the rest of the venture industry declined. Roughly one in five funding rounds now includes a corporate investor, and more than half of all dollars invested sit in rounds with a corporate backer.

• Direct investing remains the core, but no longer the only tool.
• Venture building and startup studio models.
• Venture clienting — becoming a startup's first customer rather than only buying equity.
• Fund-of-funds commitments and ecosystem partnerships.
• Collaborative 'squad' investing alongside other corporates.
• Geographic spread: influential programmes now come from Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, not only North America and Europe.
• Per GCV, Alphabet made some 32 healthcare-related startup investments in 2025 via GV, CapitalG and Gradient Ventures; Nvidia joined six rounds in the sector, mostly at the top end of valuations.