鼓励脑洞大开，这5家企业都有“小硅谷”
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强大的初创公司生态系统在硅谷茁壮生长，为什么其他人没法复制这种成功？今年3月，沃尔玛创办了旗下首个科技孵化器，成为最新一家“臭鼬工厂”和硅谷模式孵化器、加速器或实验室兼有的公司。 “臭鼬工厂”在美国商界的历史源远流长。全球最大国防工业承包商巨头洛克希德•马丁早在1943年首开先例。“臭鼬工厂”本是洛克希德·马丁高级开发项目的正式名称。如今，很多美国商界巨头在内部设立独立的机密部门，负责推进秘密的高科技项目。谷歌母公司Alphabet 旗下的Google X、Facebook的Building 8都是最著名的例子。 “臭鼬工厂”之父凯利·约翰逊认为，创新组织独立于原公司至为重要，无论是办公地点还是体制架构里都要和原公司有区别。约翰逊的座右铭是：“动作快，动静小，要及时。” 有些公司并不会选择从零开始开发创意，而是选择通过企业加速器项目，培养创业初期的小公司。投资初创公司的不止是硅谷的科技巨头，可口可乐、德勤、劳氏公司、塔吉特等传统领域的佼佼者也都在积极开展加速创新项目。 另一些企业则是以风投的角色进行硅谷之类的创新试点。一些《财富》500企业在投资与本公司经营范围完全无关的初创公司。投资研究机构CB Insights称，按交易数量排名，英特尔的Intel Capital、谷歌的Google Ventures和企业客户关系管理软件公司Salesforce 旗下的Salesforce Ventures是去年最活跃的企业风投基金。 以下列举了《财富》500强公司最近一些较引人瞩目的创新实践： 甲骨文 今年4月，软件巨头甲骨文开始为美国公司的内部“初创项目”招募工程师。新公司的员工主要为甲骨文的客户量身定制云服务应用。新公司将在甲骨文内部作为独立部门运营，两个解决方案工程中心都远离甲骨文在加州红木城的总部，但开发的产品完全为内部使用。新公司的工作重心包括云计算、大数据分析、移动运算、物联网和网络安全领域。 所在地：弗吉尼亚州莱斯顿和科罗拉多州丹佛 社交媒体巨头Facebook旗下的首家初创公司加速器并没有设在总部硅谷，而是落户巴黎，这令科技界大跌眼镜。加速器Facebook Startup Garage所在的巴黎F站自称“全球最大的初创工业园区”。Facebok的员工可以在六个月内与大约12家初创公司合作，提供办公场所，帮助营销推广、技术开发和提升用户体验等等。在今年9月的加速器首期活动中，Facebook将挑选一些以数据驱动的初创公司，重点为“个人信息创新”。 所在地：法国巴黎 沃尔玛 全球最大零售商沃尔玛今年3月在硅谷成立了内部孵化器“8号店”。起这个名字是为了纪念沃尔玛尝试店内新摆货方式的地点。8号店的目标是改变零售业的未来。沃尔玛已经宣布投资一项名为Code Eight的初创公司。Code Eight最近聘请服装租赁公司Rent the Runway的创始人珍妮•弗雷斯主管业务。弗雷斯说，Code Eight还在静默阶段，主打产品将是一款移动应用，将利用人工智能“让购物变得神奇又愉快。” 所在地：加州硅谷和纽约市 杜邦 石化业巨头杜邦联手特拉华大学和特拉华州政府，创立了创新园区Delaware Innovation Space，占地10万平方英尺的创新中心可容纳几十家科技领域的初创公司，由一个六人组成的外部非营利性董事会指导。董事会的成员全都是以上三家合作方的代表。杜邦还会密切留意各初创公司，作为未来有收购潜力的目标。杜邦对创新中心的初始投资为125万美元，在房地产方面将另外投入1500万美元，还提供价值200万美元的实验室设备。Delaware Innovation Space将于今年夏季开幕。 所在地：特拉华州威明顿 赛门铁克 除了像传统风投机构一样提供资金，网络安全软件巨头赛门铁克今年3月成立的Symantec Ventures还会分享网络安全方面的资源，方便初创公司接触有威胁的数据以及各种市场观点。数据收集是进入网络安全行业的主要壁垒，通过将初创公司纳进自身生态系统，赛门铁克希望缩短新公司走向市场的时间。赛门铁克将每笔投资都当成未来收购的机会，但并不会承诺一定收购，对初创公司也不会提出硬性要求。 所在地：加州山景城（财富中文网） 本文发表于2017年6月15日期《财富》杂志，文章标题为《商界巨头的“小心机”》。 译者：Pessy 审稿：夏林
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A robust startup ecosystem seems to be working for Silicon Valley, so why not the rest of us? Walmart (No. 1 on the 2017 Fortune 500 list) launched its first technology incubator in March, becoming the latest company with not just a skunkworks (though it has one of those too), but also a Bay Area–style incubator, accelerator, or lab. The skunkworks has a rich history in American business. Lockheed Martin launched the first one 1943. Indeed, “Skunk Works” is the official name of the defense contractor’s Advanced Development Programs. Now, plenty of the country’s largest companies are creating separate divisions inside their companies where employees can work on advanced and oftentimes secretive projects. Alphabet’s Google X and Facebook’s Building 8 are among the most buzzy examples. Having separation—both physical and institutional—between innovators and the rest of an organization was considered crucial to Skunk Works’ creator, Kelly Johnson, whose motto was, "Be quick, be quiet, and be on time." Rather than develop purely ideas from scratch, some companies are choosing to nurture young companies in their early stages through corporate accelerator programs. And it’s not just Silicon Valley tech giants that are investing in young talent; Coca Cola, Deloitte, Lowe’s, and Target are all running active acceleration initiatives. There’s also the Bay Area-test VC route. Some Fortune 500s are investing in early-stage companies completely external to their operations. Intel Capital, Google Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures were the most active corporate venture capital funds last year by number of deals, according to CB Insights. Here, some of the most recent splashy innovation moves by Fortune 500 companies . Oracle In April, the software giant began recruiting engineers for what it is calling a “startup” within its U.S. operations. Employees of the new venture will build custom cloud apps for Oracle’s customers. The startup will operate as a separate unit within the company, with its two physical Solution Engineering Centers located far away from the enterprise software provider’s Redwood City headquarters, but will create products purely for internal purposes. The areas of focus are cloud computing, big data analytics, mobile computing, internet of things, and cybersecurity. Where: Reston, VA and Denver, CO The social network raised eyebrows around the tech world by launching its first startup accelerator not in its Silicon Valley home base, but in Paris. The Facebook Startup Garage will be housed in Station F, which calls itself “the world’s biggest startup campus.” The company’s employees will work with about a dozen startups for six months at a time, offering them office space and help with functions like marketing, technical development and user experience. For its inaugural class, which starts in September, Facebook is selecting data-driven startups with a focus on “personal information innovation.” Where: Paris, France Walmart The world’s largest retailer has launched an internal incubator in Silicon Valley back in March. Called Store No. 8 (in homage to an early location where the company experimented with store layouts), the incubator is focused on transforming the future of retail. Walmart has already announced one portfolio company, called Code Eight, which has recently hired clothing rental company Rent the Runway founder Jenny Fleiss to lead its operations. The startup is still in stealth mode, but its main product will be mobile app that uses AI to “make shopping magical and delightful," says Fleiss. Where: Silicon Valley, CA and NYC DuPont The petrochemical giant has teamed up with the University of Delaware and the state government to create the Delaware Innovation Space. The 100,000-square-foot center will house dozens of early-stage, science-based startups that will be mentored by an outside non-profit governed by a six-member board, which will have representatives from all three partners. DuPont also plans to keep a close eye on the companies as potential future acquisition targets. The company is pitching in $1.25 million in initial funding, $15 million in real estate and $2 million worth of lab equipment to the project, which is opening this summer. Where: Wilmington, DE Symantec In addition to providing capital like a traditional VC firm, Symantec Ventures, which the cyber security company launched in March, will give young companies in its industry access to its threat data and market insights. Data collection is a major barrier to entry into the cyber space; by giving startups access to its ecosystem, Symantec hopes to accelerate companies’ time to market. The software giant is looking at investments as future acquisition opportunities, but it is not making or requiring any promises. Where: Mountain View, CA A version of this article appears in the June 15, 2017 issue of Fortune with the headline "Titans of Business Think Small." |
