☕️ Innovation Espresso #37
Splitting corporate innovators, Arizona’s $1T AI bet, WhatsApp ads… and the usual shots of corporate venturing news!
Welcome to Innovation Espresso, a quick yet powerful dose of curated news, articles, videos, reels, newsletters, and podcasts that I’ve found particularly interesting throughout the week. While I focus on Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing, you’ll find this quick yet potent dose covers more ground. Enjoy with your morning coffee!
💊 Innovation Pills
🧾 Meta just flipped the switch — WhatsApp ads are coming
🦾 Masayoshi Son’s $1 trillion bet: An AI‑robotics hub in Arizona
🤖 Google’s Gemini now runs on your robot — no Wi‑Fi required
📦 Amazon is spending $4B to expand Prime delivery to rural America
🌐 Meet Dia, the AI browser that chats with your tabs and the strategy behind its design
🚛 Aurora Reverses Course, Puts Human Back in Driver’s Seat
💻 Microsoft finally changes the iconic Blue Screen of Death
🎯 Meta vs. OpenAI: the $100M bonus talent war
💬 WhatsApp’s new AI feature can summarize your group chats
👁️ This startup wants robots operating on your eyeballs
☕️ Your weekly sip of Corporate Venturing News
✨ The Corporate Innovation world is splitting in two. Some corporates double down on real venturing, others drift into theater. A sharp LinkedIn take on the growing divide between true innovators and PR-driven initiatives. Source
🇮🇹 Italian publisher Zanichelli launches €60M fund for venture building and M&A. Traditional players getting serious about corporate venturing with dedicated funds is always good news for the ecosystem. Source
🔥 The new Corporate Venturing playbook? It’s all about connecting external startups with internal teams. A LinkedIn post underlines how proper orchestration, not just capital, is key for real impact. Source
🧪 Building strategy as a series of experiments. Outcome’s blog reminds us that innovation strategy shouldn’t be a rigid plan — it’s iterative, like a startup itself. Source
🤖 Alphabet’s Gradient Ventures launches $200M AI fund. Google’s investment arm doubles down on AI, proving that corporate venture arms are key players in shaping the AI race. Source
✈️ British Airways owner taps AI to fuel its innovation strategy. Airlines are more than planes — corporate venturing and AI tools are now part of IAG’s growth playbook. Source
💊 Making Life Sciences partnerships truly strategic. Taylor Wessing unpacks how corporates in health and pharma can avoid transactional venturing and build real innovation pipelines. Source
📹 Something to watch
You know your YouTube algorithm is in a weirdly reflective mood when it throws this at you. Jay-Z and Warren Buffett chatting about the role of moat in success, why following trends can be dangerous, and how to carve your own path. A gem from 2010 that feels surprisingly relevant for today’s innovation game. Here the full video.
🎧 Something to listen
What do innovation and surfing have in common? Apparently, more than you’d think. In this episode, Dave Lewis breaks down what it really takes to build capabilities for corporate innovation—spoiler: it’s not just about processes, but people, empathy, and creating safe spaces to fail and learn. Also, the “Three C’s” every innovator should remember: clarity, commitment, and conditions.
🛠️ Something to try
Your results with Sora or Veo 3 still suck? Try this instead. Ohneis Generate turns your half-baked ideas into AI-ready prompts for images or video. No complicated prompt wizardry needed — type a short phrase, pick your style, done.
Want to panic just a little? See how much of 2025 is already gone.
🤔 Did you know?
Remember boredom? Turns out, before smartphones, we had plenty of it—and it wasn’t all bad. This Atlantic piece explores how our constant digital stimulation killed boredom, but maybe also our creativity, reflection time, and ability to just… be. Worth a scroll, ironically. Read the article
🥐 Espresso is not enough?
Tired of hearing “AI will replace everything”? This piece dismantles the biggest fallacies around AI hype—from ignoring real limitations to underestimating human systems. A refreshing, critical read to keep your head cool in the middle of the AI gold rush. Read the article
📣 Want to be featured on Open Road Ventures?
If you’re building a tool, service, or promoting an event in the innovation landscape, check out this page to learn how to sponsor a spot in front of 1,200+ engaged innovators. Let’s brew something great together!
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See you next week,
Davide