ImpactAlpha, Sept. 23 – Data-analytics platform Splunk launched a venture investment arm that will include a $50 million “social impact fund.” Splunk Ventures also created a $100 million “innovation” fund for early stage data companies. The impact fund will invest in companies that use data to drive positive social impact, workforce development, equality and sustainability.
“We firmly believe that data offers unparalleled potential to make the world better,” said Splunk’s Ammar Maraqa.
- Impact tech. Publicly-traded Splunk is the latest technology company to launch an impact-focused corporate venture fund. Salesforce Ventures has a $50 million impact fund. Orange Digital Ventures, the $185 million corporate venture fund of Orange, the French global telecom company, is exploring one (see, “SoftBank, Salesforce and Orange signal corporate venture capital’s tilt towards impact investing”).
- Beyond legacy. Legacy food corporations such as Tyson and Cargill are using venture capital to invest in more sustainable plant-based foods. The top five oil and gas corporate venture capital arms, including Shell Ventures and BP Ventures, have increased cleantech investment each year since 2015 (see, “Cleantech venture capital rebounds with smarter, more patient investors”).
