TDK Ventures President Nicolas Sauvage Appointed Chair of the Global Corporate Venturing Leadership Society

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TDK Corporation (TSE: 6762) announced today that its subsidiary, TDK Ventures Inc., President Nicolas Sauvage, has been appointed Chair of the Global Corporate Venturing (GCV) Leadership Society for a two-year term.

The Leadership Society brings together senior leaders from across the global corporate venture capital (CVC) ecosystem to advance shared learning, benchmarking, and best practices for high-impact venture investing.

In this role, Sauvage will help translate the Society’s mission of learning and collaboration into clearer performance benchmarks, stronger operating alignment, and higher-impact venture outcomes, including through actionable insights such as the GCV Keystone Annual Survey, while fostering a spirit of trust and entrepreneurial partnership across the venturing ecosystem.

Sauvage has been honored on the GCV Powerlist for five consecutive years and serves as Co-Chair of the Global Corporate Venturing & Innovation (GCVI) Summit, the industry’s flagship annual gathering.

New data from the GCV Keystone Annual Survey, GCV Institute’s platform for benchmarking CVC operating models and performance, underscores why corporate venture capital has become an increasingly reliable partner for founders, even in a tougher macro environment. The number of active corporate investors has reached a record number of 2,933 globally—surpassing the 2021 peak—with more than 50 new CVC units launched in 2025 alone, expanding the universe of strategic capital available to startups. Corporate-backed funding rounds and disclosed deal value are rising even as overall venture investment declines, signaling sustained engagement when other sources pull back. Importantly for early-stage companies, 34% of CVC-backed rounds continue to take place at the seed stage.

“Nicolas represents the kind of modern CVC leadership the ecosystem now needs,” said James Mawson, Founder and CEO of Global Corporate Venturing. “He combines operational rigor with a deep respect for founders, alongside a long-standing commitment to education and cross-ecosystem partnership. Through that work, he has helped demonstrate how corporate venture capital has become a mature, high-impact asset class with a clearly differentiated role in the global venture ecosystem. His appointment as Chair reflects both his personal leadership and the credibility TDK Ventures has earned globally.”

“I am honored to serve in this role and support the continued growth, learning, and collaboration across our global CVC community,” said Nicolas Sauvage, President of TDK Ventures. “As Chair, my focus will be on deepening trust with founders and venture investors, strengthening the partnerships that define enduring CVC platforms and catalyze meaningful impact for entrepreneurs and society.”

In addition to his responsibilities leading TDK Ventures, Sauvage has played a leading role in the development of CVC education and training programs worldwide. Sauvage is the host of the Corporate Venturing Insider podcast, a series of in-depth conversations with global CVC leaders, founders, and operators exploring how corporate venture capital is evolving and what it takes to build durable, entrepreneur-first partnerships.

Sauvage is a published author on corporate venturing, with his work featured by leading institutions including Harvard Business Review, London Business School, and INSEAD, where he explores the evolution of modern CVC, effective corporate–startup collaboration, and long-term value creation. In collaboration with IESE Business School, the TDK Ventures journey has also been featured as a case study, “TDK Ventures: Aligning Corporate Strategy with Venture Innovation,” distributed through Harvard Business Review and taught in leading MBA programs.

Over the past year, he has taught a structured CVC curriculum through the Kauffman Fellows venture capital network, delivered sessions at business schools including IESE and IMD, as well as other executive programs, and frequently presents CVC best practices at leading industry events such as TechCrunch Disrupt, Web Summit, and South Summit. His work focuses on improving clarity around CVC models, strengthening investor-founder alignment, and promoting more transparent collaboration across the broader venture ecosystem.

Since its founding in 2019, TDK Ventures has continued to build momentum, culminating in its 50th portfolio investment milestone and reflecting the firm’s commitment to supporting impact-driven founders in deeptech and hard-tech categories.

About TDK Corporation

TDK Corporation (TSE:6762) is a global technology company and innovation leader in the electronics industry, based in Tokyo, Japan. With the tagline “In Everything, Better” TDK aims to realize a better future across all aspects of life, industry, and society. For over 90 years, TDK has shaped the world from within; from the pioneering ferrite cores to cassette tapes that defined an era, to powering the digital age with advanced components, sensors, and batteries, leading the way towards a more sustainable future. United by TDK Venture Spirit, a start-up mentality built on visions, courage and mutual trust, TDK’s passionate team members around the globe pursue better—for ourselves, customers, partners, and the world. Today, the state-of-the-art technologies of TDK are in everything, from industrial applications, energy systems, electric vehicles, to smartphones and gaming, at the core of modern life. TDK’s comprehensive, innovative-driven portfolio includes cutting-edge passive components, sensors and sensor systems, power supplies, lithium-ion and solid-state batteries, magnetic heads, AI and enterprise software solutions, and more—featuring numerous market-leading products. These are marketed under the product brands TDK, EPCOS, InvenSense, Micronas, Tronics, TDK-Lambda, TDK SensEI, and ATL. Positioning the AI ecosystem as a key strategic area, TDK leverages its global network across the automotive, information and communication technology, and industrial equipment sectors to expand its business in a wide range of fields. In fiscal 2025, TDK posted total sales of USD 14.4 billion and employed about 105,000 people worldwide.

About TDK Ventures

TDK Ventures, Inc. is the global corporate venture capital arm of TDK Corporation, dedicated to investing in and partnering with early-stage deeptech startups that are shaping the future of technology and sustainability. Since its founding in 2019 as a wholly owned subsidiary of TDK Corporation, the founder-first firm has built a diversified venture portfolio and manages $500 million in assets across four funds, supporting visionary entrepreneurs from Seed to Series B stages.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, with a global team across Boston, London, Tokyo, and Bengaluru, TDK Ventures invests alongside leading VC partners in early-stage, deeptech companies spanning advanced materials, climate and energy, electrified mobility, AI and compute, robotics, next-generation transportation, mixed reality, and IoT/IIoT. Beyond capital, the firm supports founders with deep technical expertise and access to TDK’s global R&D, manufacturing capabilities, and international market channels to accelerate growth.

For entrepreneurs and investment partners interested in exploring opportunities with TDK Ventures, visit www.tdk-ventures.com or email [e-mail].

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