Key Takeaways
- • Walgreen's Well Ventures unit operates as one of Chicago's largest corporate venture-capital funds with more than $150 million in capital available, rivaling established local players like Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Lightbank.
- • Corporate venture investment surged dramatically in early 2014, with companies deploying $3 billion in Q1—double the year-earlier figure—and financing one-third more deals than in Q1 2012, signaling renewed appetite for external innovation channels.
- • Well Ventures, launched in late 2009 by Walgreen CFO Wade Miquelon (a former Procter & Gamble executive), remained largely under the radar until recent years while building a diversified portfolio across healthcare technology, renewable energy, and digital media.
- • The portfolio includes investments in SoCore Energy (solar), MC10 (wearable health monitoring), and Aviary (photo-editing software), demonstrating strategic focus on segments adjacent to Walgreen's core retail and pharmacy operations.
- • Corporate venture arms function as "outsourced R&D," allowing large organizations to access innovation ecosystems more efficiently than internal development, according to CB Insights CEO Anand Sanwal.
Summary
Walgreen, the Deerfield-based pharmacy retailer, operates one of the Chicago metropolitan area's largest venture-capital funds through its Well Ventures unit, a fact largely unknown to market observers and even many local industry participants. According to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the firm's operations, Well Ventures has more than $150 million in available capital, positioning it among the top-tier venture investors in the region alongside better-known firms such as Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Lightbank.
The broader landscape for corporate venture capital brightened considerably in early 2014 following years of dormancy after the dot-com collapse. Research firm CB Insights reported that U.S. companies invested $3 billion during the first quarter of 2014—twice the spending level from the prior-year quarter—while the volume of deals financed by corporate venture arms increased by approximately one-third compared to Q1 2012. This resurgence reflects renewed confidence among large enterprises seeking growth-stage innovation. Major corporations participating in this trend include Motorola Solutions (Schaumburg), Baxter International (Deerfield), and CME Group (Chicago).
Well Ventures was established in late 2009 under the leadership of Wade Miquelon, Walgreen's Chief Financial Officer and a veteran of Procter & Gamble. The venture unit maintained a deliberately low profile for several years before gaining visibility approximately two years prior to the article's publication. The portfolio encompasses more than a dozen transactions spanning diverse sectors: renewable energy (SoCore Energy, a Chicago-based solar company), wearable health technology (MC10, a Massachusetts-based developer of health-monitoring devices), and digital media (Aviary, a New York-based photo-editing software platform backed when Walgreen opened its printing platform to third-party app developers). Well Ventures also invests in other venture funds, diversifying its exposure and extending its reach within the broader innovation ecosystem.
According to CB Insights CEO Anand Sanwal, corporate venture arms function as mechanisms for "outsourced R&D," enabling large organizations to access innovation that often develops more effectively outside traditional corporate hierarchies. This strategic rationale explains the timing and magnitude of renewed corporate venture investment during periods of business optimism and growth orientation.
The broader landscape for corporate venture capital brightened considerably in early 2014 following years of dormancy after the dot-com collapse. Research firm CB Insights reported that U.S. companies invested $3 billion during the first quarter of 2014—twice the spending level from the prior-year quarter—while the volume of deals financed by corporate venture arms increased by approximately one-third compared to Q1 2012. This resurgence reflects renewed confidence among large enterprises seeking growth-stage innovation. Major corporations participating in this trend include Motorola Solutions (Schaumburg), Baxter International (Deerfield), and CME Group (Chicago).
Well Ventures was established in late 2009 under the leadership of Wade Miquelon, Walgreen's Chief Financial Officer and a veteran of Procter & Gamble. The venture unit maintained a deliberately low profile for several years before gaining visibility approximately two years prior to the article's publication. The portfolio encompasses more than a dozen transactions spanning diverse sectors: renewable energy (SoCore Energy, a Chicago-based solar company), wearable health technology (MC10, a Massachusetts-based developer of health-monitoring devices), and digital media (Aviary, a New York-based photo-editing software platform backed when Walgreen opened its printing platform to third-party app developers). Well Ventures also invests in other venture funds, diversifying its exposure and extending its reach within the broader innovation ecosystem.
According to CB Insights CEO Anand Sanwal, corporate venture arms function as mechanisms for "outsourced R&D," enabling large organizations to access innovation that often develops more effectively outside traditional corporate hierarchies. This strategic rationale explains the timing and magnitude of renewed corporate venture investment during periods of business optimism and growth orientation.
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