Large companies investing in or incubating smaller companies with interesting ideas is hardly new. In 1918, for example, DuPont took a 25 percent stake in a relatively new company called General Motors. In fact, throughout the second industrial revolution, from 1880 to about 1930, companies such as Coca-Cola, CSX (founded in 1901 as US Steel) and Dow Chemicals often invested in smaller companies with new and innovative industrial technologies in order to gain an early-mover advantage. The strategy worked. According to Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn, 247 out of today’s Fortune 500 were created during those 50 years. Venturing took place between the industrial revolution and the information revolution, but on a smaller scale and at a slower pace. Then came the phenomenal Nasdaq run-up of the late ’90s and a new wave of venturing began. “Companies were getting whacked across the snout and asking what happened,” according to Heidi Mason, managing director of venture consultancy Bell-Mason Group in Silicon Valley. “This little upstart came along and messed with my business.” The eye-popping dotcom stock valuations woke many corporations to the Internet’s business-transforming possibilities. Sources say the current market downturn will not discourage the trend in corporate investing, but how many new Fortune 500 companies this wave of venturing will produce is yet to be determined. Related content BrandPost Why CISOs Are Looking to Lateral Security to Mitigate Ransomware How to fight ransomeware attacks with lateral security By Adelino Simao Mar 27, 2023 2 mins VMware Feature State of the CIO, 2023: Building business strategy Despite a focus on core modernization and transformation work, 2023 State of the CIO respondents say CIOs are playing a strategic leadership role with impact that transcends IT. By Beth Stackpole Mar 27, 2023 11 mins CIO Business IT Alignment Digital Transformation Analysis Why data leaders struggle to produce strategic results A recent Gartner survey of data and analytics leaders found that fewer than half think their teams are effective at providing value to their organizations. Here’s how to change that equation. By Thor Olavsrud Mar 27, 2023 8 mins Chief Data Officer Data Management IT Leadership BrandPost How Infosys and Tennis Australia are harnessing technology for good By Veronica Lew Mar 26, 2023 6 mins Infosys Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe