In developing new technologies, start with the customer problem. 
Ana Lopes of IBM Ventures on Translating Science, Supporting Founders, and Building the Next Chapter of Corporate Venture Capital
Corporate Venturing Insider Episode #125 | Interview with Ana Lopes| Interviewed March 25th, 2026
For the latest episode of Corporate Venturing Insider, Nicolas Sauvage sat down with Ana Lopes of IBM Ventures at GCVI Monterey 2026 to discuss her career journey, IBM Ventures’ role inside one of the world’s most storied technology companies, and the broader challenge of translating frontier science into scalable businesses.
From Science to Corporate Venture
Lopes’ path into corporate venture capital was anything but linear. Originally from Brazil, Lopes left home intending to become an academic scientist. But after arriving at MIT for her first job, she discovered technology transfer and became fascinated by a different kind of question: how does scientific knowledge move from the lab into the real world?
“I fell in love with this idea of how do we translate science from lab to market?” Lopes said. “How do we think about the scientific knowledge and translate that into something that people can consume or use?”
That question became a throughline in her career, taking her from MIT into a startup spun out of the university, then to GE Ventures, IBM Research, and eventually IBM Ventures.
Start With the Problem
One of Lopes’ clearest lessons from technology transfer is that commercialization should not begin with a solution looking for a market. It should begin with the problem.
“Why don’t we start with the problem?” she said. In many tech transfer environments, teams begin with promising science and then spend significant time trying to find the right application, customer, or licensee. Lopes said that can become “a big waste of time” when the problem is not clear from the start.
Her time in a startup reinforced that lesson. Working with limited resources, testing product-market fit, and learning when to pivot gave her a practical understanding of what founders face.
“You have to wear many hats because you have very limited resources,” Lopes said. “Your funding needs to go very far.”
For Lopes, that experience made her a better investor. In corporate venture capital, the job is not only to provide capital, but to help founders break down barriers earlier by connecting them with customers, validating whether they are solving the right problem, and helping them access the resources of a larger company.
Learning the Mothership
Lopes’ time at GE Ventures also shaped her view of corporate venture capital. She described the group as “super high-performing,” but the lead-up to GE’s famed split ultimately led to the venture unit's breakup.
Still, the experience gave Lopes a foundation in both venture investing and corporate strategy. Most importantly, it taught her how to work with the “mothership.”
At IBM, that lesson remains central. Lopes said IBM’s current strategic clarity helps IBM Ventures focus its work. “IBM is very focused,” she said. “We’re an AI hybrid cloud company, and we’re expanding now in terms of the future of computing, looking at quantum computers.”
That focus gives IBM Ventures a clearer mandate: understand where IBM is going, identify startups that can help shape that future, and bring outside-in learning back into the company.
IBM Ventures’ Capital Plus Model
Lopes described IBM Ventures as IBM’s strategic investment arm, focused on founders working at the intersection of enterprise AI and quantum computing. In AI, the team looks broadly across the stack. In quantum, Lopes said the focus is more concentrated on the software layer and companies building applications on top of quantum systems.
IBM Ventures is a balance sheet fund with an announced $500 million to invest in AI and quantum, and Lopes said it has close to 30 active portfolio companies.
But the real differentiation, she emphasized, is not simply capital. IBM Ventures calls its approach “capital plus.”
“We all know as CVCs that we can be bottlenecks because we’re the corporates; we’re slow,” Lopes said. “From an IBM Ventures perspective, we try to break down the barriers and actually be fast and work with our founders in their timelines.”
That support can include joint go-to-market opportunities, OEM relationships, and helping startups connect with IBM as a client, partner, or pathway to IBM’s customers.
Bringing Outside-In Signals Back to IBM
Beyond supporting founders, Lopes said one of the most important roles of a CVC is to act as an antenna for the corporation.
IBM Ventures brings market intelligence back to IBM through leadership conversations, short memos, monthly newsletters, and larger AI and quantum reports. The goal is to translate weak signals from the market into information business leaders can use.
The team also includes portfolio development and operations/strategy functions. The portfolio development team acts as a concierge for founders, helping them navigate IBM and access the broader ecosystem. The strategy side helps collect insights, report to leadership, and support initiatives such as IBM’s partnership with the University of Chicago’s accelerator to foster quantum startups.
A New Chapter for IBM Ventures
Toward the end of the conversation, Lopes acknowledged that IBM Ventures is in a new chapter.
“This new journey of IBM Ventures, we’re much stronger internally,” she said. “I think we’re seen as a very important muscle… in the community we’re growing our traction.”
The goal, she added, is not to “build an empire” through headcount, but to grow IBM Ventures’ presence, continue driving impact, and “make great investments.”
For corporate venture leaders, Lopes’ journey offers a reminder that the best CVCs are more than investors. They are translators between science and markets, bridges between founders and corporations, and scouts helping the mothership understand where the future may be headed next.
