Corporate venture capital has evolved.

In this episode of the Influencer Series Fireside Chat, Ravi Belani sits down with Jay Eum, Founding Managing Director of GFT Ventures and one of the few investors who has helped build three venture initiatives, including Samsung Ventures and TransLink Capital.

They explore how CVC has moved from slow, strategically entangled “dumb money” to independent, performance-driven CVC 3.0 models. Jay breaks down what makes corporate venture capital successful today, how reputation shapes access to deal flow, and why some CVCs create real strategic leverage while others struggle.

They also dive into hard tech fundraising:

• When founders should approach CVCs

• Why proof of concept matters before engaging strategics

• How to avoid getting burned in capital-intensive industries

• Why reputation is everything in tight venture ecosystems

• How to think about leverage when you only have a few possible partners

Plus, Jay shares his perspective on today’s AI revenue explosion and what founders should focus on during this unprecedented market cycle.

If you’re a hard tech founder, enterprise startup, or emerging fund manager, this conversation is essential.