Welcome to the latest edition of The Frontline
Intel, insights and highlights from the Silicon Foundry (SiF) community.
On tap for this month’s edition: a spotlight on the growth of the Japanese Innovation Ecosystem and role of one of its leading VC firms, the State of Venture Capital as 2023 comes to a close, and recommended Guiding Principals for Best in Class Corporate Venture Capital activities. |
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Ecosystem Spotlight: Growth of the Japanese Innovation Ecosystem with Delight Ventures |
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Co-Founded by Tomoko Namba - the entrepreneur who launched and built DeNA from zero to a major listed technology company and today serves as a vice chair of the Japan Business Federation (
Keidanren) - Delight Ventures is a uniquely positioned VC firm headquartered in Tokyo and who's aim is to help startups and entrepreneurs emerge from Japan and truly "go out into the world."
Dai Watanabe, fellow Managing Partner at Delight Ventures, dives into the key influences and state of Japan's innovation ecosystem, outlook on technology trends and the firm's own approach to investing. |
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Meet the Team: Doug Kilponen |
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"Given my background building early-stage ventures and driving deals between them and strategic corporate investors, I always felt a strong connection with Silicon Foundry’s mission."
Now introducing Doug Kilponen, who joined Silicon Foundry this past month as a Partner based at our headquarters in Silicon Valley. Doug is an entrepreneur, technology executive and previous alumni of Kearney, whose nearly three decades of experience bridges early-stage startups and Fortune 500 board rooms. |
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The State of Venture Capital 2023 |
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Developed alongside our colleagues at Kearney and Cendana Capital, this inaugural report aims to unpack the complex and ever changing global innovation ecosystems, to shed light on the current state and key trends in the venture capital (VC) world to help companies understand what the broader market is doing, where they should focus their innovation efforts, and how they can justify returns on investment (ROI).
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Guiding Principles for Best in Class CVCs |
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Venture capital is currently in a visible slump, with late-stage dealmaking falling over fifty percent year-over-year, yet corporate venture capital (CVC) investment levels are holding up well on a relative basis. By studying the approach and track records of some of the most successful CVCs operating today, Kearney and SiF have developed five principles for success to help best position CVCs for when the markets inevitably rebound. |
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Kearney FFWD Podcast Series |
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Kearney FFWD's new podcast series
Innovate – Validate – Repeat is out now. Episode 1 —
“The race to space: transformation from above” featured SiF's own Michele Scataglini. Co-founder of the Oxford Space Commerce and Governance initiative, Michele discusses the latest “space for space” and “space for earth” tech trends, collaborations, and deployment tactics that are accelerating growth within the sector. |
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Where We've Been & Where We'll Be
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Global industry events that our team has recently attended or will be at in the coming months. Drop us a line to to get the inside scoop, hear what we've learned and/or to get together if you'll also be there at these upcoming events in Tokyo, Dubai, New Delhi or San Francisco. |
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GROWTH INDUSTRY CONFERENCE (GRIC)
Japan's largest hybrid global conference and community specializing in the growth industry. With the goal of "Bringing Japan's Startup Ecosystem up to Global Standards," the conference is an opportunity for top-tier ecosystem builders to present their ideas + a place to gather + community for challengers who continue to grow + evolve. All for the growth industry.
Tokyo, Japan - November 16th
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The 28th United Nations Climate Change conference will gather governments from around the world to agree on policies to limit global temperature rises and adapt to impacts associated with climate change.
Dubai, UAE - November 30th - December 12th |
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WAIPA's World Investment Conference (WIC)
Investment Promotion Agency's from around the world will convene at WIC to address current economic and social issues that may affect global investment flows and other strategic and policy considerations. The Conference includes formal panel presentations, ample networking opportunities and social events for the members.
New Delhi, India - December 11th-14th |
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This annual gatherings for leaders across the health value chain is an early signal of critical challenges and opportunities that are shaping strategic choices for players across the sector. Kearney will bring together our clients and friends for an opportunity to connect with peers. We will have leaders in the use of AI in drug discovery, health equity, and patient data management participating in our evenings’ discussions. Learn more about our events and opportunities to meet our experts here.
San Francisco - January 8-11th |
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Where Innovation Meets Entertainment |
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Streaming on our screens at home this month, we have binged these three movies which tell the unique stories - meteoric rises and in some cases the eventual crash landings - of several of the highest startups of the past few decades.
Watch the journeys and drama unfold for the founders of Blackberry, Theranos and Uber. |
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Recent headlines that caught our attention related to innovation, technology, venture investing, and key announcements from across our community of partners and Members. |
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