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Building a great product is one thing. Getting a company like Nvidia to put its name behind it is something else entirely.
In this episode of Build Mode, host and Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Sydney Sykes, who leads global venture capital alliances and partnerships at Nvidia, to unpack how startups break into the Nvidia ecosystem and what a corporate venture capital partnership actually looks like once they’re in.
Sydney explains how founders can get on Nvidia’s radar through programs like Nvidia Inception, why strategic alignment matters more than a slick pitch deck, and how corporate venture capital differs from traditional venture capital when it comes to fundraising, diligence, and deal terms. Drawing on her experience as an investor at NEA and Lightspeed Venture Partners, and as co-founder of BLCK VC, she also discusses access and representation in venture capital and how the AI boom is reshaping who gets funded. She closes with practical fundraising advice for founders hoping to build lasting relationships with corporate VCs like Nvidia.
They get into:
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How a startup can “enter the Nvidia orbit” through the Nvidia Inception program
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What Nvidia looks for before offering its stamp of approval to an AI startup
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Corporate venture capital vs. traditional venture capital: what founders need to know
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Why a corporate VC checks for strategic relevance, not just financial upside
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How to pitch the same startup differently to a corporate VC vs. an institutional VC
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Why founders should build their cap table like a puzzle, not a popularity contest
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How the AI boom is lowering barriers to entrepreneurship — and where old barriers remain
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Why Sydney believes VCs should pay closer attention to energy and data center infrastructure
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How Black VC is expanding access and education across the venture capital industry
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Sydney Sykes’ advice for founders trying to break into the corporate venture ecosystem
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Chapters:
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00:00 – Intro: How Startups Enter Nvidia’s Orbit
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01:20 – Meet Sydney Sykes: From NEA to Lightspeed to Nvidia
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03:18 – What Sydney Does as Nvidia’s VC Alliances Lead
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04:20 – The AI Trends Nvidia Is Watching Across Verticals
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07:47 – How Startups Can Enter the Nvidia Orbit
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10:34 – What Nvidia’s “Stamp of Approval” Actually Looks Like
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12:56 – How Startups Get Noticed by Corporates (Beyond Nvidia)
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15:18 – Does a Corporate Stamp Move VCs to Write Checks?
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19:41 – Access, Black VC, and Gatekeeping in Venture Capital
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30:20 – Procurement vs. Corporate VC vs. Traditional VC, Explained
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38:28 – Final Advice for Founders Chasing Corporate Partnerships
Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
