Startup Accelerators, Information Asymmetry, and Corporate Venture Capital Investments.

This article investigates how the entry of startup accelerators influences the investment patterns of Corporate Venture Capitalists (CVCs), focusing on the strategic dimension of business relatedness between CVC portfolio firms and their parent companies. Using a comprehensive dataset of U.S. CVC investments from 1996 to 2016 and employing text mining to measure business relatedness, the study finds that following the introduction of startup accelerators in a region, CVCs—particularly those with parent firms in IT-using industries—increase investments in startups dissimilar to their core business. This shift is attributed to accelerators mitigating information asymmetry through quality signaling and mentorship, enabling CVCs less familiar with high-tech domains to invest more confidently in novel technologies. The findings highlight the role of startup accelerators as intermediaries that help CVCs better achieve strategic objectives amid digital transformation, with implications for innovation and regional entrepreneurial ecosystems.