Building a great product is one thing. Getting a company like Nvidia to put its name behind it is something else entirely.<\/p>\n
In this episode of Build Mode, host and Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Sydney Sykes, who leads global venture capital alliances and partnerships at Nvidia, to unpack how startups break into the Nvidia ecosystem and what a corporate venture capital partnership actually looks like once they’re in.<\/p>\n
Sydney explains how founders can get on Nvidia’s radar through programs like Nvidia Inception, why strategic alignment matters more than a slick pitch deck, and how corporate venture capital differs from traditional venture capital when it comes to fundraising, diligence, and deal terms. Drawing on her experience as an investor at NEA and Lightspeed Venture Partners, and as co-founder of Black VC, she also discusses access and representation in venture capital and how the AI boom is reshaping who gets funded. She closes with practical fundraising advice for founders hoping to build lasting relationships with corporate VCs like Nvidia.<\/p>\n
Subscribe to Build Mode on\u2060 Apple Podcasts\u2060, \u2060Spotify\u2060, or\u2060 wherever you like to listen\u2060. And watch the full videos on\u2060 YouTube\u2060. New episodes of \u2060Build Mode\u2060 drop every Thursday. <\/p>\n
Chapters:
\n00:00 \u2013 Intro: How Startups Enter Nvidia’s Orbit
\n01:20 \u2013 Meet Sydney Sykes: From NEA to Lightspeed to Nvidia
\n03:18 \u2013 What Sydney Does as Nvidia’s VC Alliances Lead
\n04:20 \u2013 The AI Trends Nvidia Is Watching Across Verticals
\n07:47 \u2013 How Startups Can Enter the Nvidia Orbit
\n10:34 \u2013 What Nvidia’s “Stamp of Approval” Actually Looks Like
\n12:56 \u2013 How Startups Get Noticed by Corporates (Beyond Nvidia)
\n15:18 \u2013 Does a Corporate Stamp Move VCs to Write Checks?
\n19:41 \u2013 Access, Black VC, and Gatekeeping in Venture Capital
\n30:20 \u2013 Procurement vs. Corporate VC vs. Traditional VC, Explained
\n38:28 \u2013 Final Advice for Founders Chasing Corporate Partnerships<\/p>\n
Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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