A few days ago, during the big event Barcelona Industry Week I acted as moderator of a roundtable about Corporate Venturing, with the following participants:
- Joaquim Serra, Director of Institutional Relations of Nature Bissé
- Fernando Rayón, Business Innovation Manager Agbar.
- Alex Pardo, CEO of Corporate Services and Venture Capital in Sorigué
- Xavier Servat, manager of Fluidra Accelera
- Josep Miquel Piqué, President of La Salle Technova
Corporate Venturing for what? Briefly, the ideas that appeared in that forum were the following:
- Complementing company’s own products with external innovation, coming from startups
- To diversify, in areas where the company does not have deep knowledge, because those areas are based on basal technologies other than the company’s own and because address not known markets.
- To improve the organization itself
- As a mechanism for attracting talent
- Contact with specific business opportunities
- Immersion in a global ecosystem
- A window and a jump to the future
I now come back to the subject of that roundtable for providing some additional information. It refers to the Catalan companies (or companies located in Catalonia) that are developing efforts in Corporate Venturing.
In my opinion, the relationships with the world of startups might be considered Corporate Venturing only when it is viewed from any of the aforementioned optics. That is, when it is done to innovate, to improve current products and processes, when the company tries to identify new opportunities in other markets and other base technologies (diversification), when it is intended to attract talent or when a window to the future is opened.
Obviously, there are many Catalan companies that work with startups. For example, according to CataloniaBio’s Study on investment in the Biomedical industry in Catalonia 2017, 60% of Catalan pharmaceutical companies have equity in biotech startups. In addition, 45% of those biotechs invested by these pharmaceutical companies are located in Catalonia (38% are international biotechs and the remaining 17% are biotechs set in Spain).
But I do not mention here all those pharmaceutical companies or other companies with equity in startups since their activity is not codified in a corporate venturing program. My goal is to mention only corporate venturing initiatives that are explicitly expressed in the organization of the corporation.
The Corporate Venturing initiatives that I have identified in Catalonia are the following:
- Seat along with Conector develops SEAT Accelerator by Conector, acceleration program specialized in startups of the automotive sector.
- Telefónica has its known Wayra. However, in my view, Wayra program is not aimed at providing innovation and technology to Telefónica. It is mainly marketing and support of the ecosystems.
- Agbar has the Síty Program, managed by Incubio. The aim of Aguas de Barcelona with this program is, from the basis of its assets, to think about the future of technology and disruption in cities.
- In the tourism sector, Hotusa wants to boost travel industry startups through Hotusa Ventures which includes 1) Hotusa Travel Lab, 2) Hotusa Challenge, 3) Hotusa Venture Builder and 4) Hotusa Ventures fund
- In the industrial field, the reference in Catalonia, due to its early relationship with startups, is Fluidra. This company created Fluidra Accelera a few years ago. It is an accelerator that aims to generate innovation to complement the products and services of the company.
- Promaut is a small industrial group dedicated to automation engineering and the start-up of production lines. Promaut has been working with startups for a long time, in a very pragmatic and successful way.
- Other industrial companies like Ficosa and Idneo promote Onboard Ventures, an open innovation platform that works with startups. The objective of this program is diversification, in areas such as IoT or Industry 4.0.
- Sorigué is a reference in terms of water technology and engineering, services, construction and materials. In Corporate Venturing, its strategy involves diversification, innovation, development and talent acquisition. Startups are the fundamental pillar for this company strategy.
- Torres is also sensitive to the startup world. His bet is technology scouting, while thinking about diversification.
- The multinational Zobele has an initiative of Open Innovation –Zobele Innovation Hub– and of the Program Join&Win that looks for startups of sectors of air care, home care and health & personal care. Both initiatives are located in Barcelona.
- The Port of Barcelona has its Port Challenge, run by Founder Institute.
- CELSA launched Ingenium. In essence, it is a challenge that goes for the second edition, aimed at startups that want to suggest ideas on the steel sector. The challenges of the last edition have been energy storage, traceability in the supply chain, automation and process optimization, intelligent steel and circular economy.
- Gas Natural has the InnovaHub at Pier01 in Barcelona. It is the meeting-point with the actors of the digital and technological ecosystem that impact in the energy sector.
- Nestlé has its Global Digital Hub in Barcelona. Strictly it is not a corporate venturing program. But the company has the HENRI program, relating to entrepreneurs and startups.
- Cuatrecasas launched Cuatrecasas Acelera which according to the company is the first accelerator of startups that is set up in Europe by a law firm. Although Cuatrecasas Acelera is located in Madrid, it holds events and activities in Barcelona.
- Sanofi has its HEALTH-U unit, a program aimed at startups that provide innovative solutions in health field. Specifically, medical images, skin care, emotional support or doctor-patient relationship. The program consists of a one-week stay at Sanofi Barcelona and a six-month mentoring phase.
- Uriach develops, with the help of Xavier Verdaguer, the Uriach Innovation Bootcamp
- Bayer promotes the Grants4App Program
- Gebro Pharma from Barcelona has sponsored initiatives of the Richi Social Entrepreneurs.
- Natura Bissé is involved in several projects.
- Ogilvy launched Ogilvy Upcelerator, which is managed by BIBA Venture Partners. They look for startups from multiple fields: retail, communication, Ad Tech, Mad Tech, Big Data, Data analytics, AI, Marketing tech, IoT, M2M, Fintech, Smart Devices, Consumer analytics, Mobile technology and video.
- The Catalan hotel company Iberostar called a few months ago, through the platform of Telefónica Open Future, a startups competition awarded with 140,000 euros. Proposals aimed at the tourism sector were collected. The winning projects received acceleration services, spaces in Wayra and an intensive week in Universitas Barcelona called International Investment Bootcamp.
- The International Airline Group (IAG), one of the largest groups of airlines in the world (including British Airways, Iberia, Vueling or Leve), has recently opened the second call for its Hangar 51 accelerator in Barcelona and Madrid in collaboration with Cink Emprende. The first call was held in London. IAG seeks disruptive startups that revolutionize the airline industry. Startups (which can be from anywhere in the world) receive 10 weeks of intensive advice from experts in the sector of the different airlines of IAG. They will be able to develop and test their products thanks to the resources of the IAG companies and they will also be analyzed for receiving funding from the IAG’s multi-million dollar digital investment fund.
- In the wine and champagne sector the Vallformosa Cooperative develops the CavaLab
- Suara Cooperative works with startups from a social point of view.
- Group Z has Zeta Venture that provides advertising to the startups in a model of Media for Equity. Grupo Z also participates in Media Digital Ventures, with the same goal of supporting startups through advertising and having equity in exchange for advertising spaces.
- OpenTrends, a software engineering company, created the Venture Builder The Carrot Cake.
- Medichem
- Reig Jofre, companies that have established both a collaboration with Ship2Be, through its Tech4Health program, to invest and accelerate health startups
- Seidor
- Leroy Merlin, who collaborates with Netmentora
- Guirbau
- InnoEnergy Iberia
- Euroleague Basketball, with its Tech Challenge, developed by Salle-URL
- ACSIS with its start-ups program TENKAN-TEN, which aims to revolutionize the sports and well-being sector