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Influencer Series: How Next47 Rewrote the Rules of Corporate Venture Capital

Written by Admin | Jul 3, 2025 6:58:49 PM

In this Fireside Chat with Alchemist Accelerator, Jason Sydow of Next47 reveals the hard-won lessons of evolving from a traditional CVC into a financial-first venture powerhouse, with insights on strategy alignment, go-to-market execution, and winning deals.

 


By the Alchemist Team


The Influencer Series is an intimate, invite-only gathering of influential, good-energy leaders. The intent is to have fun, high-impact, “dinner table” conversations with people you don't know but should. The Influencer Series has connected over 4,000 participants and 15,000 influencers in our community over the last decade.

 

These roundtable conversations provide a space for prominent VC funds, corporate leaders, start-up founders, academics, and other influencers to explore new ideas through an authentic and connective experience.

 

Alchemist's Influencer Series: How Next47 Rewrote the Rules of Corporate Venture Capital

 

As corporate venture capital evolves, Next47 stands as a testament to breaking traditional molds. As Siemens' venture capital arm, the firm has charted an unconventional course by embracing a purely financial focus – a stark departure from the strategic alignment typically expected in corporate venture initiatives.

 

To understand this transformation, we'll explore how Next47 evolved from a traditional corporate venture fund into one that successfully competes with Silicon Valley's most prestigious firms. Ravi Belani and Jason Sydow discuss this unique dual-team structure, go-to-market approach, and how Next47 balances corporate connections with venture capital independence.

 

 

 

Here are the 5 key takeaways from Ravi's conversation with Jason Sydow of Next47 on corporate venture capital (CVC):

  • Next47's transformation from traditional corporate venture capital to a financially driven investment firm demonstrates how a clear strategic vision and unwavering corporate support can enable successful organizational change.
  • The fund's unique dual-team structure, with equal emphasis on investment and go-to-market execution, creates a powerful differentiator in portfolio company support without sacrificing financial discipline.
  • Because it prioritizes financial returns over strategic alignment, Next47 has proven that corporate venture arms can compete effectively against top-tier VCs while still delivering meaningful value back to their parent companies.
  • Success in corporate venture capital requires structural independence, aligned incentives, and a clearly defined operating model that eliminates traditional corporate decision-making bottlenecks.
  • Next47's evolution shows that access to a corporate parent's customer ecosystem can create substantial value for portfolio companies without requiring strategic alignment or corporate control.

 

The Strategic-Financial Spectrum of Corporate Venture Capital

At the heart of corporate venture capital lies a fundamental tension. In one direction, the desire to drive strategic value for the parent company through targeted investments in emerging technologies and potential partners. In the opposite direction beckons the allure of pure financial returns, unencumbered by corporate mandates or strategic filtering.

 

Most corporate venture arms find themselves trapped in an awkward middle ground. Their investment theses often read like carefully crafted compromises, attempting to satisfy both strategic imperatives and financial goals. But here's the thing: this balancing act frequently results in neither objective being fully realized. The capabilities required for strategic value creation often clash with those needed for superior financial performance.

 

A particularly thorny challenge emerges from the inherent cultural collision between corporate and startup mindsets. Large corporations, with their emphasis on preserving existing business models and minimizing risk, struggle to embrace the disruptive forces that drive startup success. Meanwhile, startups thrive on challenging established players and upending industry conventions. 

 

Against this backdrop, Next47 made an unusual choice. Rather than attempting to reconcile these competing forces, they positioned themselves firmly at the financial end of the spectrum. This decisive stance eliminated the ambiguity that plagues many corporate venture initiatives, allowing them to build an organization optimized for venture capital performance rather than corporate alignment.

 

 

The Transformational Journey of Siemens Venture Capital to Next47

After two decades of conventional corporate venture capital activity yielded mixed results, Siemens' leadership faced a critical decision point. As the parent company embarked on its own transformation into a technology-first organization, it became clear that their venture capital approach needed a corresponding evolution.

 

What followed was a bold reimagining of corporate venture capital. The headquarters shifted from Munich to Silicon Valley – a move with profound implications beyond location alone. It represented a fundamental reset of the organization's culture, team composition, and operating philosophy. To create something entirely different from its predecessor, the organization replaced most of the existing team and implemented a new model centered on financial returns, giving birth to Next47.

 

For dramatic transformations like this to succeed in venture capital's high-stakes environment, unwavering support from the top is necessary. Siemens' leadership actively supported the changes, providing Next47 with the autonomy, resources, and vision to execute its vision without interference. This commitment to independence proved crucial in establishing Next47's credibility within the venture capital ecosystem.

 

 

Rethinking Corporate Venture Capital and Financial Priorities

For venture capitalists, speed kills – but not in the way you might think. The ability to move quickly on investment decisions often determines whether a fund secures the most promising opportunities. Next47 recognized this reality and structured itself accordingly, with complete investment autonomy that extends even to backing direct competitors of Siemens' business units.

 

Gone are the lengthy corporate approval chains and byzantine decision processes, typical characteristics of corporate venture capital. In their place stands a streamlined organization built for venture-speed execution. The fund operates on clear five-year cycles, with an initial €1 billion commitment that proved successful enough to warrant a renewal and doubling to €2 billion in total assets under management.

 

Perhaps most telling is Next47's approach to incentives. To align their team's motivation with traditional venture capital norms, they established a separate management company and offered carried interest to investment professionals. This structure sends a clear message to both employees and the market: Next47 operates as a venture capital firm first, with corporate backing as an advantage rather than a constraint.

 

 

Balancing Investment and Value Creation in Dual-Team Structures

At the core of Next47's innovative approach lies a unique organizational design: a go-to-market team that matches the investment team in both size and importance. This isn't window dressing or a token support function – it's a fundamental part of their value creation strategy.

 

Most corporate venture capital firms offer some form of portfolio support, often branded as concierge services. Next47 takes this concept several steps further. Their go-to-market team functions as an extension of portfolio companies' sales organizations, actively generating leads, and driving revenue growth. This hands-on approach delivers tangible value that resonates with founders looking for comprehensive support alongside financial investment.

 

Behind this execution lies a sophisticated network-building operation. The go-to-market team maintains a carefully curated database of decision-makers, each ranked according to their accessibility and track record of engaging with portfolio companies. This methodical approach to relationship management ensures that when Next47 promises to make an introduction, it delivers real value rather than merely adding noise to founders' already crowded inboxes.

 

The brilliance of this balanced structure reveals itself in the virtuous cycle it creates. As portfolio companies benefit from genuine sales acceleration, they become enthusiastic references for Next47. These strong references, in turn, help the investment team compete for and win highly competitive deals, creating a self-reinforcing engine of value creation.

 

 

Unlocking Market Potential With Siemens

In the early days, Next47's go-to-market strategy focused heavily on driving sales within Siemens itself. But a surprising discovery changed their trajectory: the vast network of Siemens' customer relationships offered even greater potential for portfolio company growth.

 

What started as an experiment quickly evolved into a core strength. Siemens' sales executives, far from resisting the introduction of startup solutions, embraced the opportunity. These introductions provided fresh talking points and innovative solutions that reinvigorated long-standing customer relationships.

 

The impact has been transformative. Portfolio companies now gain privileged access to decision-makers at global enterprises like Volkswagen, AB InBev, Accenture, and Procter Gamble. This extensive reach transforms Next47's value proposition from being Siemens-centric to truly market-spanning.

 

This evolution exemplifies how corporate venture capital can create unique value without requiring strategic alignment. Instead of dictating direction, Next47 focuses on opening doors, building a support model that serves both portfolio companies and the parent organization while maintaining true independence.

 

 

Corporate Alignment Without Corporate Control

Next47's relationship with Siemens demonstrates how to maintain productive corporate connections without sacrificing operational independence. The reporting structure is remarkably lean: direct accountability between Next47's managing director and Siemens' CEO, eliminating layers of corporate oversight that typically slow decision-making.

 

Instead of the committee reviews and business unit vetoes that often characterize corporate venture capital, Next47 operates with remarkable autonomy. This streamlined governance not only accelerates decision-making but also redefines the relationship between the fund and its corporate parent.

 

The arrangement delivers strategic insights to Siemens without forcing artificial alignment requirements on portfolio companies. Next47's investment activities naturally expose Siemens to emerging technologies and business models, while their go-to-market activities create organic connections between innovation and existing business units.

 

This model proves that corporate venture capital can serve both masters – delivering strategic value to the parent company while maintaining the independence necessary for venture capital success. The key lies in creating natural opportunities for mutual benefit rather than forced integration.

 

 

Measuring Success with Impactful Performance

When Next47 launched, their portfolio naturally skewed toward their heritage, with two-thirds of investments in frontier technology and one-third in enterprise software. Yet this wasn't the result of strategic mandates or filtering – it simply reflected where they saw the best opportunities.

 

Today, the fund competes head-to-head with Silicon Valley's elite venture firms. Their ability to win deals against established names like Sequoia, Excel, and other firms stems not from their corporate backing, but from their differentiated value proposition and the strong references provided by successful portfolio founders.

 

Instead of imposing strategic constraints, Next47 has redefined what corporate venture capital can achieve through founder-centric support. Their journey offers valuable lessons for both corporations, startups, and investors navigating the innovation ecosystem.

 

 

The Future of Corporate Venture Capital

Next47's success story illuminates a promising path forward for corporate venture capital, proving that financial independence and corporate assets aren't mutually exclusive. When properly structured, this combination creates powerful advantages that benefit both portfolio companies and parent organizations. As more corporations seek to engage with the startup ecosystem, Next47's model offers valuable lessons beyond mere capital commitment – it demonstrates the necessity of organizational self-awareness, clear structural boundaries that enable swift decision-making, and focused execution that delivers tangible value to founders.

 

In threading this delicate needle between corporate resources and startup agility, Next47 has succeeded as a venture capital firm while creating a blueprint for the future of corporate innovation. Their journey reveals how corporate venture arms can effectively compete with elite Silicon Valley firms while still leveraging their parent company's ecosystem. For organizations looking to build their own venture initiatives, the message resonates clearly: bold choices about structure and focus, unwavering commitment to operational independence, and a genuine value proposition for founders can make the difference between mediocre outcomes and market-leading performance in the corporate venture capital landscape.

 

 

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Thank You to Our Notable Partners

 

BASF Venture Capital

Investing globally since 2001, BASF Venture Capital backs startups in Decarbonization, Circular Economy, AgTech, New Materials, Digitization, and more. Backed by BASF’s R&D and customer network, BVC plays an active role in scaling disruptive solutions.

 

WilmerHale

A premier international law firm with deep expertise in Corporate Venture Capital, WilmerHale operates at the nexus of government and business. Contact whlaunch@wilmerhale.com to explore how they can support your CVC strategy.

 

FinStrat Management

FinStrat Management is a premier outsourced financial operations firm specializing in accounting, finance, and reporting solutions for early-stage and investor-backed companies, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and venture funds.

The firm’s core offerings include fractional CFO-led accounting + finance services, fund accounting and administration, and portfolio company monitoring + reporting. Through hands-on financial leadership, FinStrat helps clients with strategic forecasting, board reporting, investor communications, capital markets planning, and performance dashboards. The company's fund services provide end-to-end back-office support for venture capital firms, including accounting, investor reporting, and equity management.

In addition to financial operations, FinStrat deploys capital on behalf of investors through a model it calls venture assistance, targeting high-growth companies where FinStrat also serves as an end-to-end outsourced business process strategic partner. Clients benefit from improved financial insight, streamlined operations, and enhanced stakeholder confidence — all at a fraction of the cost of building an in-house team.

FinStrat also produces The Innovators & Investors Podcast, a platform that showcases conversations with leading founders, VCs, and ecosystem builders. The podcast is designed to surface real-world insights from early-stage operators and investors, with the goal of demystifying what drives successful startups and funds. By amplifying these voices, FSM supports the broader early-stage ecosystem, encouraging knowledge-sharing, connectivity, and more efficient founder-investor alignment.

 

 

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