3 Successful venture clienting units redefining corporate innovation.
Discover how industry leaders like BMW, B. Braun, and Vattenfall are accelerating innovation and staying ahead of the competition through venture clienting. By partnering with startups as direct suppliers, these corporations are driving rapid technological advancements, enhancing operational efficiencies, and maintaining competitive edges in their industries.
What is venture clienting?
In the fast-paced world of corporate innovation, traditional venture capital is being complemented by a new approach: venture clienting, where established companies engage startups as suppliers rather than investment targets. This provides a platform for rapid technology integration and mutual growth, accelerating advancement while reducing risk.
BMW Startup Garage: turbocharging innovation
Launched in 2015, BMW Startup Garage assesses over 1,000 startups globally each year and purchases innovative solutions directly instead of investing. Results: engagement grew from 3-5 startups per year to 50-100; the time for a startup to sell to BMW dropped from over two years to a few months; proof-of-concept projects rose from 7 to over 30 annually; and pilots cost $1,000-100,000 rather than large CVC investments. The model has become an industry standard, with Bosch and Siemens adopting similar approaches. Noteworthy startups include AirConsole (in-car gaming) and Kinexon (real-time location services).
B. Braun New Ventures: healing one startup at a time
Healthcare provider B. Braun partners with startups by becoming their early customer, giving faster access to innovative solutions. The approach enabled development of a new robotic surgery system in just 2.5 years and a connected ecosystem for seamless data sharing and more personalized patient care. Noteworthy startups include Monidor, whose remote infusion-therapy monitoring joined B. Braun's portfolio, and cardiovascular innovator AdjuCor.
Vattenfall's InCharge: supercharging collaboration
Established in 2018 to drive e-mobility innovation, InCharge partners with startups to build EV charging infrastructure. It expanded from 10 to 100 employees across five countries, operates around 25,000 connected charging points, and grew turnover from tens of millions to roughly half a billion SEK. Vattenfall simplifies terms and conditions for startups, collaborating with QuantCo on AI-based heating and Eliq on customer engagement platforms.
What can we learn from these success stories?
Three lessons: don't just invest, become a customer, which is less risky than traditional investing and lets you test new technology in real-world situations; speed is key, so develop processes to quickly validate and integrate new technologies; and make it easy for startups by simplifying terms and creating clear pathways for collaboration. This model isn't limited to large corporations, any company can benefit.
Ideas intoaction.
Explore the possibilities with Patrick van der Pijl and the BMI team. Every big shift starts with a conversation.