Most corporate VCs are built for a world that no longer exists. That is the real problem.
For years, corporate venture capital was designed for a very different environment—one defined by software, speed and optional innovation. It was something companies did to stay close to startups, not something they relied on to navigate fundamental shifts in their industries. That world is gone.
Today, venture is shaped by deep technology, global supply chains, geopolitical fragmentation and industrial scale. In this environment, many traditional corporate venture models start to break down. They are too distant from the core business, too slow to adapt and too focused on access rather than impact.
Scania is one of the few companies that has recognised this shift early and adjusted accordingly.
This Is Not Venture. It Is Infrastructure.
What Jessica Persson and the Scania team have built is not a conventional venture arm, as shared as shared in this episode with our hosts and founders of EUVC Corporate Jeppe Høier and Andreas Munk Holm. It is a system designed to navigate uncertainty at scale.
When you operate in transport and heavy industry, you do not have the luxury of being wrong about the future. You need to understand where the world is heading, how quickly it is changing and what it takes to scale within that reality.
As Jessica explains, “It’s not just about investing in startups… it’s about tapping into a very broad economic environment that’s changing.”
This is the fundamental shift. Corporate venture is no longer about gaining exposure to innovation. It is about positioning the company within a rapidly evolving system.
What’s Covered
00:00 Why most CVC models are outdated
04:30 From outsourced to embedded venture
12:10 Deep tech changes everything
20:45 The cap table as a system
28:30 Strategic returns = financial returns
35:00 Preparing for multiple futures
Why Outsourced CVC No Longer Works
Like many corporates, Scania initially approached venture through external partners. The goal was to access deal flow, stay informed and participate in emerging innovation without building internal capabilities.
That model worked for a time. But the nature of innovation changed.
Deep technology introduced a level of complexity that cannot be managed from a distance. As Jessica notes, they began to see a shift towards deep tech, which brought significantly higher levels of complexity.
Scaling these companies requires far more than capital. It needs industrial expertise, regulatory understanding, supply chain access and long-term commitment. These are capabilities that sit inside the organisation, not outside it.
For that reason, Scania brought venture in-house and embedded it close to the core business—working directly with leadership, R&D and production. Because if venture is not integrated into the company, it cannot meaningfully influence its future.
Venture Is Now About Bits and Atoms
There is still a tendency to think of venture capital as a software-driven game. That assumption is increasingly outdated.
As highlighted in the conversation, “VC is becoming about brick and mortars as well as bits.”
In this new reality, success depends on more than speed and funding. It depends on infrastructure: factories, supply chains, certifications and the ability to operate across global markets.
This is where corporates have a structural advantage. They already possess the capabilities that startups need to scale. Increasingly, venture becomes the bridge between innovation and industrialisation.
The Cap Table Is a System
One of the most distinctive elements of Scania’s approach is how they think about the cap table.
Jessica is clear on this point: “Every single person on that cap table has to know why they’re on it and what they’re bringing.”
Rather than viewing the cap table as a passive collection of investors, Scania treats it as a deliberately constructed system. Each participant is expected to contribute something meaningful, whether that is capital, expertise, market access or operational capability.
For founders, this represents an important shift. The value of an investor is not defined solely by capital. Alignment and contribution matter just as much, if not more.
Strategic and Financial Returns Are the Same
A common debate in corporate venture is whether to prioritise strategic or financial returns. Scania rejects this distinction entirely.
“For us, they are 100% the same,” Jessica explains.
The logic is straightforward. The most valuable strategic insights come from working with the best companies. The best companies, in turn, expect investors who can compete on financial terms.
If a corporate investor is not competitive financially, it will not gain access to the most relevant opportunities. Without access, there is no insight. Without insight, there is no strategic value.
Financial performance, therefore, is not separate from strategy. It is a prerequisite for it.
Balancing the Present and the Future
Scania structures its portfolio across three horizons: near-term, adjacent, and long-term.
Each horizon plays a different role. Investments close to the core business provide immediate relevance but limited disruption. More distant bets offer transformative potential but require patience and internal alignment.
As Jessica puts it, “If you stay too close, you lose innovation. If you go too far, you lose relevance.”
The challenge lies in maintaining balance. This is not a one-time decision but an ongoing process. Scania continuously evaluates and adjusts its portfolio to ensure that it delivers both short-term value and long-term positioning.
Preparing for Multiple Futures
Rather than committing to a single view of the future, Scania operates across multiple scenarios.
These scenarios range from a globally collaborative environment to a fragmented, regionalised world, and even to highly localised systems built around decentralised solutions.
Importantly, this is not treated as a theoretical exercise. As Jessica notes, “We don’t treat this as a PowerPoint… it’s a foundation for everything we do.”
This approach allows Scania to remain adaptable. Instead of betting on one outcome, it prepares for several, ensuring resilience regardless of how the external environment evolves.
Europe’s Quiet Strength
There is a widespread perception that Europe is lagging in innovation. While this may hold true in certain areas, particularly software, it overlooks a critical strength.
In deep technology and industrial transformation, Europe remains highly competitive. It combines technical expertise, regulatory experience and long-standing operational capabilities.
Scania exemplifies this advantage. With more than a century of experience, a global presence, and consistent performance, it demonstrates how industrial depth can translate into strategic resilience.
This is not simply legacy. It is capability built over time.
The Real Role of Corporate Venture
Corporate venture is often treated as a peripheral activity—an innovation layer that sits alongside the core business. That framing is no longer sufficient.
In a world defined by rapid technological change and geopolitical uncertainty, corporate venture becomes a core capability. It is how companies explore new opportunities, test assumptions and position themselves for the future.
As Jessica emphasises, companies cannot afford complacency and must continually move onto the next S-curve.
Final Thought
Corporate venture is no longer about staying close to startups. It is about whether a company can understand the future, access it and scale within it.
If a corporate venture function is still outsourced, disconnected, or treated as optional, it is not a strategy. It is a signal.
And increasingly, it is a signal that the company is not prepared for what comes next.
Listen to the full episode on Apple or Spotify, and stay tuned for upcoming conversations with leaders shaping the European tech ecosystem.
