IBM sets up VC advisory council to boost partnerships

IBM Corp. announced the formation of a new Venture Capital Advisory Council Monday, an organization initially made up of seven venture capital (VC) firms and Big Blue executives. The aim of the council is to help IBM identify potential new partnership opportunities around the world as well as receive feedback on how best to tailor its partner programs to appeal to startup companies, according to an IBM executive.

“It’s a collaboration investment network, how to tap into the whole notion of collaboration innovation,” said Drew Clark, director of strategy with IBM’s Venture Capital Group. Big Blue has been partnering with VC-backed startups since early 2000, but establishing the Venture Capital Advisory Council makes the process more formal, he added.

The first seven VCs to join the council are Accel Partners, Darby Overseas Investments Ltd., Draper, Fisher and Jurvetson, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, 3i, U.S. Venture Partners and Walden International. “We’re trying to get a world perspective,” said Clark, pointing out that a number of the VCs focus on different areas of the world, including Asia, Europe, Latin America, Ukraine and Russia.

IBM will regularly invite new VC partners to join the council who have a synergy in their investments corresponding to areas where IBM is growing its business and who are identifying key trends in emerging markets like Brazil, China, India and Russia, according to Clark. Particular areas of common interest are likely to be Linux, software as a service in terms of new usages and models, security, the life sciences and healthcare, he added.

The Venture Capital Advisory Council will meet four times a year, Clark said. The first meeting date has yet to be fixed, but will be some time later this year. While the group will stress the importance of face-to-face and local meetings, it’s possible the council may also make use of the Virtual Innovation Centers technology IBM also announced Monday to facilitate virtual meetings, he added.

Representing IBM on the council will be Claudia Fan Munce, the company’s vice president of corporate strategy and managing director of Big Blue’s Venture Capital Group. “She’s the point person, a proxy for the greater IBM who will also participate in the council,” Clark said. The aim is for the Venture Capital Advisory Council members to have access to IBM staffers from across the entire company including its top researchers and developers, he added.

It’s possible that over time IBM consider opening up membership of the council to non-VCs, Clark said, with a likely focus on both Big Blue partners and customers.