Internal and external venturing

The Venturing and Innovation Business Building organization creates and develops new business and innovation opportunities for DSM through (external) investments in start-ups across the globe, (internal) venture-building within DSM, and innovation partnerships with other corporate entities.

External venturing

The DSM Venturing organization is focused on investing in new external ventures and supporting start-up companies already in our investment portfolio. We made eight new investments in 2021, 13 follow-on investments in 12 portfolio companies, and generated several leads for collaboration between start-ups and businesses at DSM. By the end of the year, our portfolio included 38 start-ups (2020: 35). For more information, see the DSM Venturing website.

Internal venture-building

We evolved how we build and scale innovative ventures within DSM in 2021 by means of a revised venture-capital approach with dedicated entrepreneurial teams, simple startup-style board governance, and milestone-based funding rounds.

An example of this approach is the creation of Hologram Sciences, Inc. This venture incorporates our activities in personalized nutrition in the US within the framework of our Human Nutrition & Health business. Hologram combines proven science with new technology to create health diagnostics, digital coaching and personalized nutrition solutions that help people optimize their health and well-being.