Corporate Partners was established in 1988 as Lazard Frères & Co.'s first institutional private equity fund (one of 6 worldwide with over $1B capital at the time), becoming independent of Lazard in 2009. The Corporate Partners Investment Alliance (CPIA) is the successor to the investment and advisory businesses of Corporate Partners. CPIA is an investment partnership specialized in corporate development. The Partners invest in companies, help them raise capital, and advise management and owners. All Partners have already been successful investors, financiers, executives and/or other professionals before joining. Partners invest at their discretion in individual projects developed and/or managed by Partners. CPIA operates as a multi-family office (made up of ~20 Single Family Offices) and merchant bank and is a sector- and stage-agnostic investor, though ca. 60% of investments to date have been focused on Healthcare/Life Sciences companies.