Navigating Corporate Venture Capital in Climate Tech

In this episode of the EUVC podcast, Andreas and our in-house CVC expert Jeppe Høier discuss venture capital with Gina Domanig, Managing Partner at Emerald Technology Ventures.

Gina Domanig is the Managing Partner of Emerald Technology Ventures. In 2000, she founded the business as Europe's first independent cleantech venture capital fund. In addition to Emerald activities, Gina serves on the boards of Die Mobiliar and the Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE) Foundation.

In today’s conversation, Gina shares insights on how they landed their first corporate LPs and the challenges of engaging with startups. She also emphasizes the importance of technical depth, thorough due diligence, and being supportive and constructive in the startup ecosystem.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

02:25 Gina's Journey in Venture Capital
03:11 Emerald's Focus on Sustainability and Industrial Technologies
04:08 Flex Term Structure and Corporate Engagement
06:56 Challenges and Innovations in Corporate Partnerships
13:48 Leveraging AI and LLMs in Venture Capital
16:58 Insights on Corporate Venture Capital
28:43 Corporate Culture and Specialist Roles
29:07 Managing Corporate Partnerships
29:33 Investment Process and Portfolio Management
30:26 Corporate Co-Investment and Follow-On Rounds
32:04 Branding and Transparency in CVC
32:52 CVC Team Dynamics and Responsibilities
35:48 Navigating LP Conversations
36:46 Corporate Venture Programs and Team Structure
38:16 Corporate Relationships and Conflict of Interest
49:43 Balancing Corporate and VC Worlds