The Mack Institute is proud to release our newest work of original research, When Goliath Needs David: How Corporations and Startups are Redefining Corporate Venturing. Based on a systematic review of the world’s 500 largest companies, it presents a data-driven analysis of how corporations are partnering with startups to fuel innovation, build ecosystems, and tackle complex challenges.
“A key takeaway is that corporate venturing is no longer the exception, but the norm,” said Mack Institute Executive Director Valery Yakubovich. “Most top firms now run at least one structured program to partner with startups, often blending multiple venturing practices into customized toolkits tailored to their strategic goals.”
The report identifies and categorizes the most common corporate venturing practices and links them to the key objectives they help companies achieve. Through a mix of real-world examples and data, it delivers a clear, accessible snapshot of today’s corporate venturing landscape—designed to inform and inspire business leaders looking to build or refine their own startup engagement programs.
When Goliath Needs David is an outcome of an original research initiative of Mack Institute launched by Serguei Netessine, Senior Vice Dean for Innovation and Global Initiatives and Dhirubhai Ambani Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at The Wharton School, and Valery Yakubovich, Executive Director of Mack Institute. They coauthored the report with Gary Dushnitsky, Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship at London Business School and Mack Institute Senior Fellow, and Claudio Garcia, Mack Institute Industry Fellow.