Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
of the Deep
Tech Ecosystem
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global Hello Tomorrow is a global organisation
management consulting firm and the world’s dedicated to leveraging deep technologies to
leading advisor on business strategy. We partner help solve world challenges. Through our Global
with clients from the private, public, and not- Challenge for startups, which has had 18,000
for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their applications from over 100 countries since 2014,
highest-value opportunities, address their we identify deep tech solutions by partnering
most critical challenges, and transform their with universities and research labs. We empower
enterprises. Our customized approach combines the pioneers who drive these solutions and
deep insight into the dynamics of companies connect them with industry leaders, investors,
and markets with close collaboration at all researchers, and regulators through conferences
levels of the client organization. This ensures and networking events in 11 countries. In addition
that our clients achieve sustainable competitive to facilitating a global deep tech ecosystem
advantage, build more capable organizations, both physically and digitally, we offer consulting
and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG services to help companies integrate deep tech
is a private company with offices in more than into their strategies, enable their organizations
90 cities in 50 countries. For more information, to adapt to faster and more open innovation,
please visit bcg.com. and train them to be more agile. For more
information, please visit hello-tomorrow.org.
Contents
• Falling Barriers
• More Fragmentation and Diverse
Approaches for Business
• Growth in Available Capital
• A Shifting Role for Governments
• Deep Problems Call for Deep
Technologies
Executive Summary
T
he pursuit of deep technologies around the rency, it is far from the only means of exchange among
world is both broad and deep. Investors are participants. Knowledge, data, skills, expertise, contacts,
putting more money into companies conducting and market access are also currencies that link ecosystem
original technological research. The aggregate annual players.
global private investment in seven deep tech categories
studied for this report soared by more than 20% a year Deep tech ecosystems can be hard for traditional
from 2015 through 2018 to reach almost $18 billion. On a companies to navigate. Newcomers frequently find
country-by-country basis, the big national players domi- themselves in unfamiliar territory, and carving out a role
nate, but they by no means own the playing field. While can be complex. Deep technologies often affect entire
53% of all deep tech companies in our study are based in value or supply chains and therefore require a more thor-
the US, both the number of US firms and the US share of ough analysis of the stakeholders’ interdependencies and
global deep tech have been declining in recent years. value creation models in order to determine how to align
goals, set strategies, and organize for interaction with
Three attributes characterize deep tech in a business others.
context. These technologies can have a big impact, take a
long time to reach market-ready maturity, and require a How each participant approaches the ecosystem
substantial amount of capital. Deep technologies are novel affects its ability to achieve value as well as influ-
and are significant advances over technologies currently ence others and the whole. Companies, investors, start-
in use. They require concerted R&D to develop practical ups, and others should be guided strategically by three
business or consumer applications and bring them from questions about themselves and their goals. What do we
the lab to the market. Many of these technologies address bring to the ecosystem? What do we want from the eco-
big societal and environmental challenges and will likely system? How do we interact with others to achieve our
shape the way we solve some of the most pressing global goals?
problems. These technologies have the power to create
their own markets or disrupt existing industries. The under-
lying IP is either hard to reproduce or well protected, so
they often have a valuable competitive advantage or barri-
er to entry.
+22% 17,886
16,407
14,509
9,854
Sources: Capital IQ; Quid; BCG Center for Innovation Analytics; BCG and Hello Tomorrow analysis.
Note: Includes investment in seven deep tech categories: advanced materials, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, blockchain, drones and robotics, photonics and
electronics, and quantum computing. Private-investment sums are based on transactions with disclosed amounts. Some 41% of private investments in deep tech
companies remain undisclosed.
103
4 Sweden
Iceland 33 23
435 Norway 3 Russia
312 United Estonia
Canada Kingdom 455
Germany 1
241 Kazakhstan
4,198 France
United States 1 329
1 Cyprus 2 746
3 Tunisia China South Korea
Iran
Bermuda
4 3
United Arab 129 1
Cayman Islands India Philippines
Emirates
2 1
Colombia Cameroon 65
Singapore
8
Brazil
2 107
Chile Australia
7
1 South Africa
Argentina
26
New Zealand
Sources: Tableau; BCG Center for Innovation Analytics; BCG and Hello Tomorrow analysis.
Note: Analysis is based on 8,682 deep tech companies related to 16 technologies across seven categories: advanced materials, artificial intelligence,
biotechnology, blockchain, drones and robotics, photonics and electronics, and quantum computing. Exhibit is missing geographic information for
199 companies.
Greater China includes the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
1
Defining Deep Tech reproduce or well protected, so they often have a valuable
competitive advantage or barrier to entry.
What constitutes a deep technology? What sets deep tech
companies apart from their other tech peers? Following the past decade of digital innovation, deep tech-
nologies—which will be at the center of the next wave of
Deep technologies are novel and offer significant advances industrial and information revolution—are the “next big
over technologies currently in use. They require substantial thing” that both corporations and venture investors are
R&D to develop practical business or consumer applica- seeking.
tions and bring them from the lab to the market. Many of
these technologies address big societal and environmental Three attributes in particular characterize deep tech in a
challenges and will likely shape the way we solve some of business context. These technologies can have a big im-
the most pressing global problems. These technologies pact, take a long time to reach market-ready maturity, and
have the power to create their own markets or disrupt require a significant amount of capital.
existing industries. The underlying IP is either hard to
8.52
Sources: Capital IQ; Quid; BCG Center for Innovation Analytics; BCG and Hello Tomorrow analysis.
Quantum computing has only eight deep tech companies, with two raising a combined $64 million in 2016 and 2017.
1
Exhibit 4 - Deep Tech Companies Hold More Private-Funding Events Than Others
2.02
1.84 1.79 1.82 1.85
1.74
1.52 1.47 1.47 1.56
1.44 1.44 1.40
1.28
21 21 38 25 24 18 10
Sources: Capital IQ; Quid; BCG Center for Innovation Analytics; BCG and Hello Tomorrow analysis.
6,000 300
4,179
4,000
3,773 200
3,464
2,212
2,000 100
0 0
2015 2016 2017 2018
Funding year
Sources: Capital IQ; Quid; BCG Center for Innovation Analytics; BCG and Hello Tomorrow analysis.
Note: Includes investment in seven deep tech categories: advanced materials, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, blockchain, drones and robotics,
photonics and electronics, and quantum computing.
Investment. The funding needs of deep tech companies Deep tech investors require vision, confidence, and pa-
vary significantly with the technology. (See Exhibit 11.) For tience. Silicon Valley garage to giga-riches stories make
example, data from Hello Tomorrow’s Challenge partici- headlines—along with the eye-popping returns earned by
pants shows that developing the first prototype in biotech their backers—but in deep tech, these investments often
costs an average of almost $1.3 million, but in blockchain, come late in the cycle, when the early, hard, and frequently
it costs only about $200,000. Several factors complicate time-consuming basic-research groundwork has been laid
deep tech investment. and the focus is on developing business and market appli-
cations. In deep tech, public funding plays an important
One is market risk. Many companies are seeking funding role in the early phase; friends and family money is rarely
in the early research phase, long before they can put a significant relative to the substantial capital requirement of
product or even prototype in the hands of potential cus- early R&D. More than one-third of the top 500 startups in
tomers, meaning that investors have few if any KPIs with Hello Tomorrow’s 2018 Challenge received public non-
which they can evaluate traction and market potential. equity funding. Almost 20% participated in accelerators or
incubators, 7% received money from friends and family,
Another factor is technology risk; many investors don’t and 2% accessed crowdfunding sources.
have the specific expertise in-house that they need to
accurately assess the potential of emerging technologies. Research by BCG and Hello Tomorrow shows that deep
Mitigation strategies include analyzing the value of pat- tech entrepreneurs today need to be able to tap into a
ents, coinvesting with corporations that have the expertise variety of private and public funding sources. (See Exhibit
to evaluate the technology, using incubators, or developing 12 and “A Deep Dive into Deep Tech Investing,” BCG
a network of experts to assist in IP evaluations (although infographic, forthcoming.) Private-public financing
this takes significant time and specialization). Some inves- schemes are becoming increasingly important to funding
tors simply stay away from unfamiliar technologies, but deep tech ventures along their entire life cycle, and CVC
this reduces their scope and forces specialization. funds, incubators, and accelerators also have become
important partners since they provide not only financing
The long time to market required for deep tech is a chal- but other critical forms of support.
lenge for many venture funds that need to return the
money to limited partners after a set period (often less
33% 20% 7% 2%
More than 33% of the Almost 20% participated Only 7% received money Just 2% accessed crowd-
top 500 startups in Hello in accelerators or from friends and family funding sources
Tomorrow’s 2018 Chal- incubators
lenge received public
nonequity funding
387 166 61 56 55
Advanced
materials 725
737 70 59 56 52
Artificial
intelligence 974
1,189 130 81 78 68
Biotechnology 1,546
59 9 7 7 4
Blockchain 87
521 166 87 74 66
Drones and
robotics 914
1,302 280 213 155 141
Photonics and
electronics 2,091
3221
Quantum
computing 8
Sources: Capital IQ; Quid; BCG Center for Innovation Analytics; BCG and Hello Tomorrow analysis.
Greater China includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
1
Israel (32%)
5,000 5,000
Overall (22%)
0 0
2015 2016 2017 2018
Funding year
Sources: Capital IQ; Quid; BCG Center for Innovation Analytics; BCG and Hello Tomorrow analysis.
Greater China includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
1
600 60
463
428
400 355 361 40
264
237 225
217
200 20
98
0 0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Founding year
Sources: Capital IQ; Quid; BCG Center for Innovation Analytics; BCG and Hello Tomorrow analysis.
Note: Includes investment in seven deep tech categories: advanced materials, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, blockchain, drones and robotics, photonics
and electronics, and quantum computing. The number of deep tech companies formed in 2017 and 2018 is likely incomplete because of the 18-month
publication delay in patent filings, making it difficult to fully identify whether companies are active in deep tech.
4.0
3.5
3.0
1.8 2.2 1.6
2.5
1.4
1.2
2.0
1.0
1.5
0.0
Advanced Artificial Biotech Blockchain Drones and Photonics and
materials intelligence robotics electronics
1,400,000
1,269,508
1,208,579
1,200,000
1,000,000
782,727
800,000
614,387
600,000
457,976
400,000
217,755
200,000
0
Advanced Artificial Biotech Blockchain Drones and Photonics and
materials intelligence robotics electronics
Biotechnology: median 2017 and 2018 Robotics and drones: median 2017 and 2018
$millions $millions
1 1
0.8 0.8
0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4
0.2 0.2
0 0
Experimental Prototype MVP Industrialization Experimental Prototype MVP Industrialization
proof of concept proof of concept
Photonics and electronics: median 2017 and 2018 Advanced materials: median 2017 and 2018
$millions $millions
1 1
0.8 0.8
0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4
0.2 0.2
0 0
Experimental Prototype MVP Industrialization Experimental Prototype MVP Industrialization
proof of concept proof of concept
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
Nonequity funding
Equity funding
0
Experimental Prototype MVP Industrialization
proof of concept
BCG and Hello Tomorrow researched seven areas of deep existing materials that differ significantly from one another
technology R&D that in our judgment are the most promis- but, when combined, produce a material with its own
ing and active fields. They also span the spectrum from characteristics, also known as a composite material (such
very early research to market applications in full develop- as fiberglass). Advanced materials have applications in
ment and therefore provide a representative picture of the many industries (including new battery technologies, CO2
deep tech landscape. The exhibit on page 20 shows the capture and storage, and smart textiles).
percentage of top deep tech startups in Hello Tomorrow’s
Global Challenge from 2016, 2017, and 2018 (based on
technological innovation, business model, team skills and Artificial Intelligence
complementarity, and expected social and environmental
impact) that are active in selected sectors. Artificial intelligence refers to algorithms and computer
systems that can perform tasks that used to be the exclu-
sive purview of humans. The widespread use of AI today is
Advanced Materials based substantially on advances in the field of machine
learning—the ability of a computer to learn without being
Advanced materials, whether biobased or synthetic, include explicitly programmed, meaning that automation is no
all new materials and modifications to existing materials longer limited to what humans can understand. The im-
that yield a superior performance (graphene is an exam- proved design of machine-learning algorithms, combined
ple). New materials can also be made from two or more with increasing computer power, has led to the successful
Biotechnology
Photonics and Electronics
Biotechnology aims to create valuable products by exploit-
ing existing biological processes or by developing new ones. The field of photonics aims to generate and harness the
Of particular interest are the genetic manipulation of properties of photons, the quantum unit of light. Photons
microorganisms for the production of antibiotics and vac- are used to transmit information through optic fibers or
cines or valuable intermediates for industrial purposes that laser beams at the speed of light, which allows digital infor-
can’t be synthesized chemically. Recently, the discovery of mation to be sent around the world in milliseconds. Light
CRISPR-Cas9 has led scientists to dream of genetic cures is also used to generate electricity through photovoltaic
for diseases such as cancer. In addition to uses in the technology (solar cells), cut through materials (lasers),
industrial and pharmaceutical sectors, the agricultural survey surroundings and measure distance (LIDAR), and
industry uses biotechnology to create new, more resistant characterize materials and molecules on the basis of their
plant varieties, which can secure a food supply for a pro- spectral properties (spectroscopy).
jected 10 billion people, and biomaterials open new per-
spectives across all industries from construction to fashion. In a similar fashion, the field of electronics harnesses the
properties of electrons. The directed movement of elec-
trons is used to produce energy in the form of electricity.
Blockchain Our modern world is based on electronic parts such as
computers. In combination with photons, the properties of
A blockchain is a distributed ledger that stores a history of electrons allow for digital information processing.
transactions (such as for a particular unit of currency or
potentially an individual’s medical history) in a secure and
transparent way. The data is stored in “blocks” and is Quantum Computing
successively appended to the “chain” (hence the term
“blockchain”). All users of the blockchain can track the Quantum computers, building on the pioneering ideas of
history, add blocks to the chain according to their permis- physicists Richard Feynman and David Deutsch in the
sions, and follow transactions from end to end. Blockchain 1980s, leverage the unique properties of matter at nano-
potentially ends the need for intermediaries that act as a scale. They differ from classical computers in two funda-
central, trusted authority for other participants, which mental ways. First, quantum computing is not built on bits
could speed up transactions and reduce costs. Blockchain that are either zero or one but on qubits that can be over-
also obviates the need to build trust, which is essential for lays of zeros and ones (meaning part zero and part one at
many kinds of transactions but is time-consuming and the same time). Second, qubits do not exist in isolation but
expensive. After blockchain’s debut in the financial sector, instead become entangled and act as a group. These two
players in other industries are looking for use cases where properties enable qubits to achieve an exponentially higher
transparent and secure transactions between distributed information density than classical computers. (See The Next
accounts can save time and reduce cost. Decade in Quantum Computing—and How to Play, BCG re-
port, November 2018; and The Coming Leap in Quantum
Computing, BCG Focus, May 2018.)
Drones and Robotics
Aerospace and
airline services 4.9 3.4 0.0 0.0 4.2 6.2
Automotive and
transportation 6.2 6.8 0.2 0.2 4.8 10.8
Business products
and services 8.6 9.8 5.4 0.8 5.0 15.7
Consumer products
and services 6.3 5.3 3.2 0.2 2.5 10.8
Manufacturing and
construction 13.3 4.1 2.4 0.1 4.8 9.4
Mobile and
telecommunications 4.0 3.2 0.1 0.1 1.9 6.3
Source: Based on data from 1,500 startups (the 500 best startups from the Hello Tomorrow Challenge in 2016, 2017, and 2018 assessed on
technological innovation, business model, team skills and complementarity, and expected social and environmental impact).
In addition to their use of CVC, more and more large com- Some of the ready availability of capital must be credited
panies are deploying a variety of innovation investment to macroeconomic conditions, however—most significant-
and development vehicles, matching the tool to the cir- ly, the unprecedented period of low (or no) interest rates
cumstances (such as time to market) and their objectives following the 2008 financial crisis, which appears to be
(such as assessing new or disruptive technologies, improv- coming to an end. In addition, many believe that the
ing existing technologies, or gaining control of a new tech- already-high, and still rising, valuations of many tech uni-
nology). The vehicles in wide use today include incubators corns cannot be sustained. There is a growing view that the
and accelerators, innovation labs, traditional R&D func- valuations ascribed to some of these companies in recent
tions, partnerships, and M&A. funding rounds have outstripped the companies’ ability to
support them in terms of actual revenues and earnings.
Sources: Capital IQ; Quid; BCG Center for Innovation Analytics; BCG and Hello Tomorrow analysis.
Note: Includes investment in seven deep tech categories: advanced materials, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, blockchain, drones and robotics,
photonics and electronics, and quantum computing. Private-investment sums are based on transactions with disclosed amounts. Some 41% of
private investments in deep tech companies remain undisclosed.
2. See, for example, Kai-Fu Lee, “What China Can Teach the US About Artificial Intelligence,” New York Times, September 22, 2018; Steve Andriole, “Artificial
Intelligence, China and the U.S.—How the U.S. Is Losing the Technology War,” Forbes, November 9, 2018; and Nicholas Thompson and Ian Bremmer,
“The AI Cold War That Threatens Us All,” Wired, October 23, 2018.
3. For more information on EU efforts in this area, see https://europa.eu/european-union/topics/research-innovation_en.
Less reliance on
More types of a central orches-
players from Highly trator and more Money not the
more diverse dynamic. on multifaceted only means of
sources. interactions exchange.
among partici-
pants.
Corporations
Technology integration,
industrial and
commercial capabilities
Universities
and research centers User
IP, talent
Startups
Agility and speed to
quickly find new
product and market fit
Governments
Investments in basic research,
Facilitators
establishment of the right Investors
Local and international
fiscal and legal environment Cash, business
connections, mentoring,
to foster innovation guidance, network
facilities
Startups have an assortment of needs. Our 2017 survey share and growth from incumbents. In deep tech, the situa-
found that the most common top priority is funding: 80% tion is different. Most startups can’t bring a new solution
ranked it among their top three requirements. But it is far from scratch to market on their own; they need access to
from their only need. Startups look to the ecosystem for data, labs and testing infrastructure, or production lines.
help with market access (61%), technical expertise (39%), For their part, companies want access to the technology or
and business expertise and knowledge (26%). These needs product the startup is developing. More often than not,
evolve as startups and their products move closer to mar- startups and big corporations have complementary goals.
ket, and the attractiveness of various types of funding
partners shifts as well. Corporations are frequently the preferred partners for start-
ups looking to establish market position through, for exam-
Corporations. Large companies have long incorporated ple, access to market and customer data, an existing cus-
external innovations through a variety of mechanisms, tomer base, or a distribution network. Big companies’
including acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures, and technological and industrial capabilities enable them to
licensing. But the technical basis of so many innovations play an important role in due diligence, especially the
has increased both the need to access new technologies technical due diligence that is key to deep tech, and the
and capabilities from outside the company and the variety acceleration of the startup’s growth. (See the sidebar “The
of models for doing so. Regardless of the source of the Rise of the Corporate-Investor Hybrid.”)
innovation, the biggest challenge many companies must
still overcome is the not-invented-here mentality that they In B2B markets, corporate partners are indispensable for
encounter when they attempt to bring a new idea, capabili- demonstrating proof of concept in real conditions. For
ty, or model into their organizations. (See “Bringing Out- example, Canard Drones and Groupe ADP worked together
side Innovation Inside,” BCG article, January 2017.) to enable the startup to test its solution for aeronautical
navigation aids in a real airport operated by Groupe ADP.
Many companies regard startups, especially digital start- Large companies can be especially helpful with challenges
ups, with skepticism and sometimes fear. They are not that digital tools cannot solve, such as building a pilot
wrong—plenty of startups are out to disrupt existing indus- production line (and then a factory) or gaining access to
tries with new approaches and models and aim to take suppliers. Air Liquide cooperates with deep tech startups to
Corporate venture capital, which can take several forms, is perform due diligence and support the startup. Traditional
playing an increasingly active role in the deep tech eco- investors often see corporate involvement as mitigating
system. As noted in the previous chapter, CVC investments the technology risk of their participation.
are on the rise. We are seeing more corporations invest
alongside traditional venture capitalists as CVC investors While most CVCs have strategic interests that are broadly
or as limited partners in venture capital funds. aligned with the financial interests of other investors, they
can differ on priorities and exit strategies. Investors and
In addition to financing, corporations have several advan- startups need to assess such factors as exclusivity, veto
tages as investors compared with traditional VCs, including rights, and rights of first refusal when coinvesting with
greater financial flexibility as they typically do not need to corporations.
return money to limited partners after a set period of time.
They can leverage technical and industrial expertise to
Universities and Research Centers. Besides being Facilitators. Facilitators include incubators and accelera-
institutions of learning and research, universities are ac- tors, facilitating laboratories (fab labs), and groups that
celerating the development of innovation and innovation organize competitions, events, and communities. They
capabilities as well as technology transfer. Many are active- focus on connections, mentorship, and facilities provision
ly involved in helping faculty, students, and alumni foster, and are a differentiating factor for deep tech ecosystems.
test, and develop novel ideas by providing technical facili- Facilitators are predominantly local, and their presence
ties, entrepreneurship programs, accelerators, and even makes an important contribution to the dynamism of a
venture funds. But this should not jeopardize their role in local ecosystem. But they are expanding their footprint,
the basic research that fuels long-term innovation. and the ability to provide international connections and
4. To learn more about the drop in US investment, see The Future Postponed: Why Declining Investment in Basic Research Threatens a U.S. Innovation Deficit, MIT,
April 2015. https://dc.mit.edu/sites/default/files/Future%20Postponed.pdf
Founded in 1985, the MIT Media Lab is a research institu- The Lab engages with its member consortium—it has
tion that eschews traditional academic disciplines in favor more than 80 sponsors, many of which are companies that
of a thematic approach that encourages “antidisciplinary” provide funding, connections, and other forms of support.
research often focused on developing new and unique The Lab operates on an undirected research model; spon-
technologies. Today, more than 800 faculty, research staff, sors fund general research rather than specific projects—
visiting researchers, and others work in over 25 groups on an approach consistent with ecosystem advancement.
more than 750 projects, many of which involve deep tech- Members gain access to the Lab’s IP without paying licens-
nologies, including robotics, advanced computing, and ing fees or royalties.
advanced imaging. According to the Lab’s website, “Re-
searchers are committed to delving into the questions not
yet asked, whose answers could radically improve the way
people live, learn, express themselves, work and play.”
%
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Funding Business Technical Technical IP, legal, Lab and Midstage Market access Visibility Talents
knowledge expertise expertise (for and financial testing beta testers (e.g., customer and
and expertise (for R&D) industrialization) expertise facilities base, distribution credibility
network)
Most critical for early-stage startups Most critical for mature startups
From idea to experimental proof of concept (TRL 1-4) Prototype and minimum viable product (TRL 5-7)
Nonfinancial Linkages
In a complex environment, where not only change but the Second, ecosystems are loose associations with uncertain
nature of change are often unanticipated, deep tech organ- futures and paths of progress. Any given startup—or
izations and therefore ecosystems frequently adapt their emergent technology—may or may not succeed. There is
management styles on the basis of feedback from employ- enough uncertainty that traditional top-down strategy
ees and stakeholders. This typically leads away from strict often loses out to other influences in the ecosystem. Differ-
and vertical hierarchies toward more horizontal and infor- ent management approaches can definitely provoke, foster,
mal ways of operating. and increase the odds of the desired result, but they can-
not engineer it.
Companies also need to make sure that leadership and
the organization are aligned behind deep tech ventures. In such an environment, companies and investors should
Both BCG and Hello Tomorrow have found that a failure to not think in terms of a single “bet” or “bets.” They need to
define a clear status and role for startups within the larger engage with and nurture the entire ecosystem and look for
company, the absence of high-level sponsorship for the the winning startup or technology to emerge from it. This
startup, and a lack of buy-in from the core business are all could mean, for instance, getting involved in associations
factors that can hinder investments in new ventures, espe- or challenges (such as the one organized by Hello Tomor-
cially those that are complex, slow to develop, and require row) and supporting facilitators or even playing a facilitator
nurturing over time. role to strengthen the ecosystem and increase the chances
that the right technology matures. Investors can play an
important role in cross-pollinating different parts of the
How Do We Interact with Others to Achieve Our ecosystem, transferring technology from one area of appli-
Goals? cation to another. Both investors and corporations can also
influence the part of the ecosystem that they want to
Two characteristics of ecosystems require a rethinking of nurture through the use of different incentives.
textbook management techniques, especially for more
traditional participants. Corporate partners may have the most difficult time ad-
justing to the ecosystem model. They need to think careful-
First, ecosystems are collaborative—they grow and ly about how they organize and staff their innovation and
strengthen through the continual interaction of all stake- R&D programs and vehicles (such as CVC funds and incu-
holders—and the need for collaboration can trump more bators) to interact with others. Many will need to overcome
traditional competitive considerations. An automotive slow and bureaucratic processes and governance proce-
and an aerospace company might work with a startup on dures in order to engage more nimbly with fast-moving
the development of next-generation batteries but so startups. They need to make ecosystem management an
might two automakers, the startup, and a government important piece of the overall innovation strategy by put-
agency because they all want the technology to come to ting the right people, tools, and methodologies in place.
market. Investors and companies typically have different This may require breaking down organizational silos and
goals and timeframes, but they each bring strengths that connecting areas of different expertise.
the entire ecosystem can benefit from, so they need to
Massimo Portincaso is a partner and managing director Christophe Tallec is a partner and co-managing director
in the Berlin office of Boston Consulting Group. You may of Hello Tomorrow. You may contact him by email at
contact him by email at portincaso.massimo@bcg.com. christophe.tallec@hello-tomorrow.org.
Kyle Blank is an associate in BCG’s Tel Aviv office. You Antoine Gourévitch is a senior partner and managing
may contact him by email at blank.kyle@bcg.com. director in BCG’s Paris office. You may contact him by
email at gourevitch.antoine@bcg.com.
Nicolas Goeldel is the deep tech lead at Hello Sarah Pedroza is a co-managing director and community
Tomorrow. You may contact him by email at lead of Hello Tomorrow. You may contact her by email at
nicolas.goeldel@hello-tomorrow.org. sarah.pedroza@hello-tomorrow.org.
To find the latest BCG content and register to receive e-alerts on this topic or others, please visit bcg.com.
To find the latest Hello Tomorrow content and register to receive newsletters on this topic or others, please
visit hello-tomorrow.org.
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