Navigating New Frontiers: Corporate Venture Capital, Legal Dynamics, and the Generative Artificial Intelligence Revolution in Startups
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Dong, Thien Le My
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Abstract
This dissertation examines the impacts of corporate venture capital (CVC) investments and the emerging influence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) on the financial and human capital dimensions of startups. In the first chapter, I investigate how CVC investments affect startup performance, emphasizing the competitive dynamics between ventures and their parent corporations in product and technology markets. My findings reveal that ventures experience reduced funding and innovation outcomes as technological similarity with their corporate investors increases. However, this negative impact is mitigated when the startup introduces new use cases for the parent firm's proprietary technologies. Building on these insights, the second chapter explores the consequences of litigation initiated by startups against their CVC investors. Contrary to expectations, such litigation results in increased CVC investments within the litigated domains. Specifically, corporate investors shift their strategies from repeated investments toward entirely new ventures and increase syndication efforts with other investors. The third chapter transitions from financial to human capital, investigating how GenAI influences the composition of startup founding teams. Drawing upon the imprinting literature and recent research on AI's occupational exposure, I construct a measure of AI exposure at the career level among founding teams. The analysis suggests that GenAI may lead startups toward smaller founding teams that are demographically heterogeneous yet exhibit greater homogeneity in terms of AI exposure. Overall, this dissertation illuminates the interplay between technological advancements, corporate venture strategies, and human capital dynamics in startups. The theoretical insights and empirical findings provide valuable guidance for stakeholders aiming to foster economic growth through entrepreneurial innovation.
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2025-04-23
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Dissertation