February 2025 : Venture Studios: Driving Innovation and Facing Strategic Challenges

As the venture studio model continues to gain traction worldwide, new initiatives are emerging across industries, focusing on innovation in energy storage, healthtech, and pet care, while some face financial and strategic challenges. This article explores the latest developments shaping the venture studio ecosystem.

GenLab Launches Silicon Valley Venture Studio for Energy Storage Innovation

On February 11, 2025, GenLab Venture Studios announced the launch of a new venture studio in Silicon Valley aimed at driving innovation in energy storage and AI infrastructure. With artificial intelligence increasingly demanding energy-intensive processing, this initiative seeks to alleviate pressure on national power grids by developing next-generation storage solutions.

The studio, led by CTO Sarah Novotny, will focus on creating advanced grid resilience technologies that ensure energy efficiency and sustainability. Leveraging cutting-edge agentic AI, GenLab aims to enhance energy storage capabilities for data centers and industrial applications, positioning itself as a key player in the clean energy transition.

Company Ventures Unveils Terrarium Venture Studio to Support Healthtech Startups

On February 18, 2025, Company Ventures, in collaboration with innovation consultancy Cactus and Wellstar Health System, launched Terrarium, a new venture studio focused on incubating startups in the health technology sector.

Terrarium plans to support up to ten startups over the next three years, with an emphasis on market validation through research-driven development. The first startup emerging from this initiative, Rota Health, is dedicated to solving healthcare data interoperability issues by leveraging artificial intelligence to streamline medical data integration.

By providing mentorship, funding, and strategic partnerships, Terrarium aims to bridge gaps in healthcare innovation and accelerate the adoption of transformative digital health solutions.

Leap Venture Studio Announces Ninth Cohort for Pet Care Startups

Leap Venture Studio & Academy, a leading accelerator program for pet care startups, has announced its ninth cohort, providing six innovative companies with funding, mentorship, and business development support.

The program, running from February to May 2025, will conclude with a Demo Day in London. Participating startups, including BistroCat, Buddy Bites, Happy Howl, James & Ella, Oh Norman!, and Otis, are pioneering new approaches in pet wellness, nutrition, and AI-driven pet care solutions.

With increasing consumer demand for premium pet products and services, Leap Venture Studio continues to foster high-growth companies that redefine the pet industry.

Avandra Raises $17.75 Million to Advance Real-World Medical Data Utilization

Avandra, a federated network specializing in medical imaging and clinical data, has successfully secured $17.75 million in funding to expand its data-sharing platform. The round, co-led by Aegis Ventures and SpringRock Ventures, will enable Avandra to enhance its data infrastructure and form new partnerships with leading healthcare providers.

The company’s mission is to improve real-world data accessibility for medical researchers and biopharmaceutical companies, accelerating drug development and personalized medicine. By leveraging AI and machine learning, Avandra aims to bridge the gap between raw medical data and actionable insights, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

54 Collective to Shut Down African Venture Studio Operations

Despite the growing global momentum of venture studios, not all initiatives thrive. 54 Collective, formerly known as Founders Factory Africa, has announced the closure of its venture studio operations on the continent, citing strategic shifts and funding challenges.

The decision comes as the organization’s partnership with the Mastercard Foundation is set to end in April 2025. This shift marks a significant change in the African startup ecosystem, raising concerns about the sustainability of venture-backed innovation models in emerging markets.

As Africa continues to develop its entrepreneurial landscape, the closure of 54 Collective highlights the ongoing funding constraints that many venture studios face, emphasizing the need for sustainable financing models to support long-term startup growth.

NEC X Partners with Carbide Ventures to Accelerate Early-Stage Startups

Silicon Valley-based NEC X has announced a strategic partnership with Carbide Ventures to boost early-stage startups. This collaboration aims to provide emerging companies with crucial resources, industry expertise, and mentorship to help transform promising ideas into scalable businesses.

By leveraging NEC X’s technical expertise and Carbide Ventures’ experience in startup acceleration, the partnership seeks to drive innovation across multiple sectors, including AI, robotics, and deep tech. This initiative underscores the growing role of venture studios in bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and commercial success.

Exploring the Link Between Venture Building and VC-as-a-Service

In the ever-evolving startup ecosystem, two models have emerged as key players in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship: venture building and VC-as-a-Service (Venture Capital-as-a-Service). While their approaches differ significantly, they are interconnected in ways that create synergies and drive value for startups, investors, and corporations alike. This article explores the definitions, differences, and the link between these two models.

What is Venture Building?

Venture building refers to the process of systematically creating startups from scratch within a structured environment, often led by venture studios or startup studios. These studios act as co-founders, providing resources, expertise, and funding to build and launch startups.

Key characteristics of venture building include:

• Idea Generation: Studios identify market gaps and develop startup ideas.

• Operational Involvement: They take an active role in building the team, developing products, and managing operations.

• Shared Resources: Startups benefit from shared infrastructure, such as legal, marketing, and technical support.

• Equity Ownership: Studios typically hold equity in the startups they create.

Venture building minimizes the risk of failure by providing startups with a strong foundation and access to expertise, making it an attractive model for entrepreneurs and investors alike.

What is VC-as-a-Service?

VC-as-a-Service is a model where a venture capital firm offers its expertise and services to manage investments on behalf of external entities, such as corporations, family offices, and institutional investors. Instead of raising a traditional VC fund, these firms act as strategic partners, deploying capital into startups that align with the client’s goals.

Key characteristics of VC-as-a-Service include:

• Customized Investment Strategies: Investments are tailored to the client’s objectives, whether financial returns, strategic innovation, or market access.

• Outsourced Expertise: Clients leverage the VC firm’s network, deal flow, and knowledge without building an internal team.

• Focus on Innovation: Corporations often use VC-as-a-Service to invest in disruptive startups that align with their long-term vision.

This model is particularly appealing to organizations looking to innovate through external investments while mitigating the risks and complexities of direct startup engagement.

How Venture Building and VC-as-a-Service are Linked

Though venture building and VC-as-a-Service serve different purposes, they intersect in several ways, creating opportunities for collaboration and mutual benefit:

1. Complementary Roles in the Startup Ecosystem

• Venture builders focus on creating startups from the ground up, often in the pre-seed or seed stage.

• VC-as-a-Service providers focus on funding and scaling startups, often at later stages.

This complementary relationship allows venture studios to collaborate with VC-as-a-Service firms to secure funding for their portfolio startups, while VC-as-a-Service firms gain access to high-quality, de-risked investment opportunities.

2. Partnerships for Strategic Investment

Venture studios often partner with VC-as-a-Service providers to attract external capital for their startups. For instance:

• A corporation using a VC-as-a-Service model might invest in startups created by a venture studio as part of its innovation strategy.

• Venture studios benefit from these partnerships by securing funding and strategic support for their startups.

3. Integrated Models

Some organizations combine both models under one roof. For example:

• A venture studio may offer VC-as-a-Service to external partners, allowing them to co-invest in the startups the studio creates.

• This hybrid approach aligns the interests of venture builders and investors, creating a streamlined pipeline from startup creation to scaling.

4. Focus on Innovation and Risk Mitigation

Both models aim to foster innovation while reducing risks:

• Venture building reduces the risk of startup failure by providing operational support and expertise.

• VC-as-a-Service diversifies investment risks by spreading capital across multiple startups.

Together, they create a robust ecosystem where startups are not only built but also funded and scaled efficiently.

Key Differences Between Venture Building and VC-as-a-Service :

Conclusion

Venture building and VC-as-a-Service are two distinct yet interconnected models that play vital roles in the startup ecosystem. Venture studios focus on the creation of startups, while VC-as-a-Service enables the funding and scaling of these ventures. Together, they form a powerful combination that drives innovation, reduces risks, and creates value for all stakeholders involved.

As the startup ecosystem continues to evolve, the collaboration between venture builders and VC-as-a-Service providers is likely to grow, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors, and corporations to thrive.