In an increasingly competitive and dynamic business environment, companies are constantly seeking new ways to innovate and grow. The corporate venture capital (CVC) model is a hybrid solution that combines the strength and experience of companies with the agility and innovation capacity of startups. The aim, therefore, is not only to achieve a financial return, but also a strategic return, allowing companies to access emerging technologies and new products, and create disruptive business models that can be crucial for their operations and long-term strategies.
This combination has made CVC become an increasingly prominent mechanism in recent years, which has encouraged many companies to diversify their business and invest in emerging companies.
This document provides a legal perspective on how companies can leverage CVC to drive their innovation and strategic growth, highlighting best practices and current trends in this field. It explores the objectives and main benefits of CVC; analyzes the most common investment structures and operations in the Spanish market; and, finally, it details the corporate governance issues, transfer restrictions, and exit clauses that should be considered when carrying out these types of operations.