TDK Ventures

What does it take for VCs to move beyond platitudes and genuinely support the entrepreneurs they fund? In a recent Harvard Business Review article, our own President 🌱🤝🌍 Nicolas Sauvage explores how the Net Promoter Score (NPS) methodology has proven invaluable over the past five years. At TDK Ventures, NPS has guided and empowered us to serve our entrepreneurs more effectively as customers. Nicolas details a practical four-step approach for implementing NPS in a VC fund, demonstrating how it can unlock untapped ideas from entrepreneurs and ensure a mutually beneficial experience for both VCs and founders. Read the full article to explore these insights and more: https://lnkd.in/g2pbPtHf #VentureCapital #NetPromoterScore #NPS #startups #VC #entrepreneurs

At TDK Ventures’ #100X Conference in Boston, Olympic medalist and Harpoon Ventures founder Larsen Jensen shared how top entrepreneurs embody the "champion mindset"—a drive to break boundaries and rally world-class teams to reshape industries. Like elite athletes, visionary founders push past doubt and grind every day for excellence. A memorable reminder that investing in the right founders means backing both skill and mental toughness to navigate big challenges and create lasting impact. 🌟 https://lnkd.in/gvPfYZ6z #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #100XConference

As we approach the U.S. elections, venture capital and the tech industry face pivotal shifts that will affect startups across AI, energy, crypto, and beyond. In our latest article with 6Pages, we examine the policies and strategies both candidates bring to the table—and how founders and investors can get ahead of these changes. Explore how this historic election could shape the future of venture capital and the tech ecosystem. https://lnkd.in/g2k4w93u #VentureCapital #Startups #Election2024 #TechPolicy

Congratulations to our amazing portfolio companies Agility Robotics and AM Batteries whose innovative technologies are honored in TIME's Best Inventions of 2024.  - Agility Robotics: Their humanoid robot, Digit, combines AI-driven capabilities to handle complex tasks across manufacturing and logistics, transforming efficiency and adaptability in industrial environments. - AM Batteries: Working to revolutionize the lithium-ion battery manufacturing process, AM Batteries pioneered a new technique that has the potential to reduce energy usage and CO2 emissions by 40%, setting new sustainability standards in battery production. Check out the list: https://lnkd.in/ekZTJCpd  #TIMEBestInventions #AI #Robotics #BatteryTechnology

Semiconductor chip development continues to advance rapidly, with transistors getting smaller and more densely packed onto increasingly larger dies. However, this progress also leads to a growing challenge: more heat generation. For instance, the thermal design power of Nvidia’s Blackwell system has tripled compared to its previous generation. To ensure chip reliability, advanced cooling solutions are being developed, which include both passive and active methods. Passive cooling refers to solutions that remove heat from the chip without the need for energy input. A key example is thermal interface materials (TIMs), which are used to transfer heat from the die to the chip package and then to the external heat sink. As heat sink designs become more advanced—like the products from our portfolio company Fabric8Labs—thermal interface materials could become the bottleneck in cooling chips. This is why many startups are innovating in high thermal conductivity and low thermal resistance materials for better transferring heat away from the die. NovoLINC, Boston Materials, Arieca Inc., apheros, Maxwell Labs, Carbice. Active cooling uses energy to extract heat, either in a direct-to-chip manner like JETCOOL Technologies Inc., NEXALUS, Chilldyne, DCX LIQUID COOLING SYSTEMS, ZutaCore, Accelsius, SEGUENTE are working on, or through immersion cooling like Submer, LiquidStack, Green Revolution Cooling, Iceotope Technologies Limited, and Ferveret, Arctic impulse Oy, Asperitas, GREENTECH Technologies AG. Our investment director, Tina Tosukhowong, takes a deep into these active cooling solutions in her recent “King of Hill in Data Center Cooling” article in DatacenterDynamics. https://lnkd.in/gqk6Dfhx We believe both passive and active cooling technologies are crucial for effectively managing the heat generated by the next generation chips and would love to exchange notes with anyone who is also diving into this space. Yan Yan, Tina Tosukhowong, and Qianran (Katherine) He, PhD continue to explore this market and welcome any additional insights. #ChipCooling #DataCenterEnergy #NextGenChip

Navigating India's Legal Landscape for Venture Firms: Key Lessons Learned As U.S.-based VC and corporate venture capital groups seek to tap into India’s startup scene, establishing a local legal presence becomes critical for success. In his latest article, “Establishing a Legal Presence in India,” Bill Graves, General Counsel at TDK Ventures, shares insights from TDK’s journey of incorporating in India. With India’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, rapid digital transformation, and government initiatives like #startupindia, foreign investors are drawn to the market. But navigating India's regulatory environment, from FDI requirements to incorporation processes, requires careful planning and local expertise. For venture firms, this article offers essential lessons, from securing FDI approvals to understanding India's corporate governance framework. 💡 Read the full article to learn how your venture firm can successfully establish a foothold in India: https://bit.ly/4f70jUg #VC #CorporateVentureCapital #IndiaStartups #TDKVentures #GlobalInvesting #FDI #LegalCompliance

Reimagining sustainable port logistics is now a reality at Singapore’s port, as our portfolio company Amperesand partners with PSA unboXed to bring solid-state transformer (SST) technology into action. This collaboration includes a one-year Proof of Value (PoV) trial of Amperesand’s SST solution to help drive PSA’s decarbonization goals and provide efficient, safe high-power charging for its electric prime mover fleet. Explore how this technology will future-proof infrastructure, laying the groundwork for electrification that meets the demands of sustainable logistics practices. https://lnkd.in/e59k7Pf5 Phil Inagaki #Electrification #Decarbonization #Sustainability #ClimateTech

Developing one of the most advanced lines of AI inference accelerators with its novel in-memory compute technology, our portfolio company is bringing the power of artificial intelligence to equipment from the cloud to the edge. See what Analog Inference's Vishal Sarin has to say about working with the team at TDK Ventures. Learn more about Analog Inference: https://lnkd.in/gAvYV-FH #VentureCapital #VC #CVC #AI #computing

What’s driving the future of corporate venture capital? This year, TDK Ventures' 🌱🤝🌍 Nicolas Sauvage brought together some of the brightest minds in the field for the Corporate Venturing Insider webinar. Featuring insights from industry leaders Phoebe Wang, Bedy Yang, James Mawson, and Claudia Fan Munce, the discussion was far more than a typical discussion—it was a deep reflection into the growth of CVCs and their transformative impact on industries. Key Takeaways: 🌐 Community & Collaboration: The future of CVCs hinges on leveraging our collective strengths. 💡 Support for Entrepreneurs: Together, we can empower entrepreneurs who are scaling impactful solutions. 🎯 Strategic Alignment: Aligning corporate goals with innovative ventures is crucial for sustained success. Read more valuable insights on how we can unlock new possibilities and propel innovation forward. https://lnkd.in/guSmBPBy

On October 24, TDK Ventures' 🌱🤝🌍 Nicolas Sauvage and Comcast Ventures' Allison Goldberg will lead the "Understanding the CVC landscape in 2024" session at InnoLead’s Impact Conference in Boston—the largest gathering of corporate innovators, technology leaders, and change-makers. Join these corporate venture capital leaders for a conversation comparing and contrasting different approaches to CVC. They’ll explore structure, mission and strategy, and contrast how different venture teams work with colleagues at the "Mothership." https://lnkd.in/eskMS2TP