Big corporations are putting more money to work in startup companies, another sign that things are heating up in the startup ranks.
According to a report by CB Insights, corporate venture capitalists sunk over $3 billion in 129 deals during the first quarter, up 73 percent on a sequential basis.
Google Ventures was the leading investor in the first quarter, placing cash into twice as many startup companies as second place finisher Intel Capital. Google also has been ramping up its M&A efforts, just today announcing plans to purchase Divide, an Android startup that was backed by Google Ventures and others. The company’s YouTube unit also is said to be close to buying video game streaming service Twitch for upwards of $1 billion.
DocuSign, the electronic signature company with operations in Seattle and San Francisco, received cash from Google Ventures, pulling in $85 million in March from the corporate venture capital arm of the search giant, as well as funds from SAP Ventures, Comcast Ventures and others.
Of course, the new corporate interest in venture capital is leading some to utter the “B” word — bubble.
“In what will inevitably elicit bubble chatter, there are more and more Corporate VCs doing deals,” notes the CB Insights report. “In fact, 83 unique corporate VCs completed an investment in Q1, a 22% rise from the same quarter last year and a 46% jump from Q1 2012.”
Even more interesting, corporate venture capital accounted for 30 percent of the $9.99 billion total in the first quarter, the highest level in five quarters.
