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Corporate-Startup Collaborations:
Google is the 2025 World Champion
Corporate Startup Stars Awards 2025 | On the right: Cyrille Saint Olive,
Head of Venture Capital & Startup Business Development @ Google, receiving the Award
“Innovation remains the cornerstone of global economic growth,”commented ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO.”ICC is proud to support businesses that drive meaningful impact through collaboration—from emerging startups to established corporations working together to shape the future of global commerce.”
Setting the Benchmark for Corporate-Startup Engagement
Corporate Startup Stars Awards celebrate corporations that demonstrate outstanding commitment to open innovation, startup engagement, and ecosystem development.
Googleled the 2025 list of the100 most outstanding corporations in corporate-startup collaboration, recognized for its exemplary practices, following in the footsteps of past winners such asNvidia (2024), Microsoft (2023), and Siemens (2022).
“No other company matches Google’s breadth and consistency in supporting startups from idea to unicorn.” said Alberto Onetti, Chairman of Mind the Bridge- Google for Startups has become one of the world’s most global and inclusive platforms, reinforced by Google’s infrastructure, equity-free accelerators, and GV’s top-tier venture engine. Google also shows founders what scale truly means: in 2025 it completed its largest acquisition ever, the $32B purchase of cloud-security scaleup Wiz. Above all, Google’s model is ecosystem-first – it doesn’t just support innovation; it powers the next generation of global tech ecosystems.”
In 2025, the company made several landmark contributions to the global startup ecosystem. The company completed the year’s largest tech M&A, acquiring cloud-security startupWiz for $32B, while itsGoogle for Startupsprograms provided over $58M in equity-free capital to underrepresented founders, including $40M through theBlack Founders Fund,helping more than 570 Black and Latino founders raise over $590M in follow-on funding. Beyond funding, Google supports startups with up to $350K in cloud credits per company, complemented by mentorship and technical guidance. Its accelerators and events have reached startups across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas, creating a truly global footprint. Meanwhile,Alphabet’s venture arm GVcontinues to demonstrate its strength as a top-tier corporate VC platform, managing over $10B in assets, 1,300+ investments, 400+ exits, and 65 unicorns.
A Global Snapshot of the CSS 2025 Winners
The Corporate Startup Stars Awards 2025 recognized100 top companiesfrom the Forbes Global 2000 and Fortune Global 500 that excel in open innovation globally. In addition,five Rising Stars— companies outside those lists — were honored for their proactive engagement in corporate–startup collaboration, with a particular focus on emerging innovation ecosystems. Thefive companiesthat led previous editions received theWinner Orbit Prize,celebrating their continued leadership in the global open innovation arena.
Finally, theSpecial Awards highlighted companies mastering specific innovation models and pioneering new approaches to startup collaboration.Three of these,powered by Mind the Bridge’s partnerGlassdollar, recognized theMost Active Startup Collaborators leveraging the Venture Client model.
“These awards never fail to highlight not only the creative mindset of corporations and startups, but also how they channel that creativity into driving meaningful change through the development of inclusive and impactful innovation ecosystems”, said Candace Johnson, Jury Member and former ICC Executive Board member.
The 2025 winners
Top 100 include: 3M, A2A, ABB, Acciona, Air France-KLM Group, Airbus, Allianz, Amadeus IT Group, ArcelorMittal, ASML Holding, Attijariwafa Bank, Aviva, Banco Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, Barclays, Bayer, BayWa, Bharat Petroleum, BHP Group, BMW, BNP Paribas, Bosch, Carrefour, CEMEX, Coca-Cola, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credicorp, Crédit Agricole, CRH, Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Damm, Danone, E.ON, Ecobank, EDP Group, Electricité de France, Emirates Group, Enel, Energie Baden-Württemberg, Engie, Eni, Fincantieri, Galp Energia, Google, Henkel, Holcim, Honda Motor, Honeywell International, Huawei Investment & Holding, Hyundai Motor, Iberdrola, Indra Sistemas, International Airlines Group, Japan Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, L'Oreal, LBBW, LG Electronics, Lloyds Banking Group, Lufthansa Group, LVMH, Maersk Group, MercadoLibre, Mercedes-Benz Group, Metsä Group, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co., MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Munich Re Group, National Grid, Nestlé, OCP Group, OTP Bank, Panasonic Holdings, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Rabobank Group, Raiffeisen Bank, Redeia, Repsol, Saint-Gobain, Schneider Electric, Shell, Sodexo, Standard Chartered, Stellantis, Sumitomo Corporation, Suzuki Motor, Swiss Post, Terna, Thales, ThyssenKrupp, TotalEnergies, Unilever, Vinci, Visa, Volkswagen, Volvo Group, Xiaomi, Zurich Insurance Group.
Rising Stars: Estabanell, Italgas, Telecel Group, ZAIN Group, Decathlon.
Special Awards also acknowledged companies that are mastering specific models and pioneering new open innovation approaches:
A2A for “Turning Innovation into an autonomous organization: A2A Life Ventures”;
Aviva for “From Venture Clienting to Venture Building: Aviva”
Damm for “Cultivating Intrapreneurs: Damm’s Approach to Employee-Driven Innovation”;
Eni for “Transforming R&D through Open Innovation: Eni “Dual Innovation Model”;
Fincantieri with “Leveraging Co-innovation in Emerging Ecosystems: Fincantieri in South Korea”;
Henkel for “The value of boundaries between CVC and business units: Henkel”;
Metsä Group for “Open Innovation to Drive Industrial Renewal: Metsä Group”;
Munich Re Group for “Bridging Startups with the European Insurance Industry: ERGO ScaleHub”;
Redeia and Terna with “National Transmission Operators Co-Innovating Across Borders: Terna & Red Eléctrica”;
Thales for “Innovating in critical sectors: Thales”;
Volkswagen for “Independent CVC Strategy: Volkswagen Leitmotif”;
Zurich Insurance Group for “Open Innovation to Address the Unknown Unknowns: Zurich Insurance”;
Winner Orbit:Nvidia, Siemens, Pfizer, Microsoft, Mastercard.
“Most Active Startup Collaborator” Glassdollar Awards: Volkswagen, Siemens, Coca Cola.
Corporate Startup Stars 2025 – Group picture
THE REPORT
Open Innovation Is Dead. Long Live Innovation.
Evolve or Be Extinct.
The Report reinterprets 20 years of corporate innovation and concludes that the era of “Open Innovation” as a communication and pilot engine is over. We are now in the Age of Results, where innovation is measured strictly onvalue, revenue, margin, and strategic impact.
“Companies no longer feel the need to show they engage with startups. What they care about is value: revenue, margins, strategic impact”, notedAlberto Onetti, Chairman of Mind the Bridge.
A new operating system has emerged aroundthree Venture Pillars: Venture Client (most mature),Venture Builder (growing but hard to scale), and CVC (widely adopted but volatile) – supported byStartup Ecosystems, (Open) R&D and IT, and Intrapreneurship.The decisive frontier is the integration of R&D with external innovation.
Global innovation power is shifting: the U.S.leads but has dropped from 35% to 29%, China has risen to 25%, andEurope continues to contract (UK 7%→3%, France 7%→5%, Germany 7%→6%). The map keeps moving.
The tools that work are becoming clear. Venture Clienting drives the strongest results: top performers have activated 800–1,000 collaborationsin ten years and outperformed the market by 40%+. Startups raised$300B+ in 2024 (1.5× OECD corporate R&D) providing a powerful innovation multiplier. Traditional accelerators have nearly vanished, replaced by venture-client fast tracks, while intrapreneurship has become a structured venture pipeline.
“If burying Open Innovation means innovation has finally become mainstream, then fine: mission accomplished. But if companies cut innovation to boost short-term EBITDA, they are planning a much bigger funeral than the one for Open Innovation.”, concluded Marco Marinucci, CEO&founder of Mind the Bridge.
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International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 170 countries. ICC’s core mission is to make business work for everyone, every day, everywhere. Through a unique mix of advocacy, solutions and standard setting, we promote international trade, responsible business conduct and a global approach to regulation, in addition to providing market-leading dispute resolution services. Our members include many of the world’s leading companies, SMEs, business associations and local chambers of commerce.
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PR and Media Relations
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