2026 Pre-Summit Investment Forum

As capital tightens and traditional funding slows, a new mix of venture, public, and philanthropic capital is reshaping how innovation gets financed. Where is liquidity really flowing, how can teams better manage runway alongside new rounds, and how do different investors coordinate - or fail to - across the start‑up lifecycle to support credible scale‑up?

Philanthropic capital is playing a critical role in de‑risking innovation, attracting private investment, and backing solutions that markets alone won’t fund. How can philanthropists bridge public-private priorities, timelines, and risk tolerance - and which collaboration models are proving most effective?

Delegates will break out into roundtable groups led by industry experts, working together to discuss pre-prepared investment challenges and strategise potential solutions. Each group will then present their findings at the end.

Consolidation and restructuring are reshaping corporate risk appetite, investment timelines, and partnership priorities. How is the role of CVC evolving - and where can corporates still play a distinctive role in de‑risking innovation through pilots, procurement, and infrastructure?

In this fast‑paced case study series, corporates and start‑ups take the stage together to unpack what it really takes to move from pitch to partnership - and from innovation to scale. Across two case studies, corporate-startup pairs share candid insights on real‑world collaboration models, key decision points, and lessons learned when working across organisational boundaries. The session offers a grounded look at what works, what stalls, and what both sides wish they had known earlier.

With IPO windows largely closed and strategic M&A slowing, the industry is being forced to rethink what success looks like. How are expectations shifting among VCs and CVCs, where does private equity now see value that venture capital may not - and what can we learn from countries like China where state influence, domestic consolidation, and strategic ownership are redefining liquidity and exit pathways?