Bosch Launches Fund IV at €250M to support deep-tech startups

Frankfurt-based Bosch, a supplier of technology and services, has announced the launch of Fund VI, a €250M commitment to investing in deep-tech startups worldwide.

The company will use the funds to back science-driven startups that are solving critical challenges in energy, mobility, automation, and beyond.

Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch says, “For one thing, our investments in startups promote technological progress in business and society, and for another, this collaboration also benefits our divisions. With disruptive technologies, startups can boost innovation in a way that delivers important growth impetus for a country’s economy. That is why we want to remain a reliable partner for the startup sector worldwide, even in an adverse business environment.”

Since its inception in 2007, Bosch Ventures have made over 100 investments in key DeepTech areas, including AI, automation, energy efficiency, semiconductor, and mobility.

The company has established its locations with contacts for the startup ecosystem in the global technology hotspots of China (Shanghai), Germany (Stuttgart, Frankfurt), Israel (Tel Aviv), and the U.S. (Boston, Sunnyvale).

Fund IV utilisation

With Fund VI, Bosch Ventures will continue to focus on companies developing disruptive technologies, with an emphasis on scientific and engineering innovation.

“As a global investor, we need to be part of the local startup ecosystem so we can find startups with potential, whose innovative technologies could turn entire markets upside down,” Ramesohl says. “Our investment professionals screen more than 2,000 startups every year.”

But only about a hundred of these make it to the shortlist. Each year, Ramesohl said, Bosch Ventures invests in six to ten carefully selected companies. It also offers know-how and operational support.

Open Bosch programme

In addition to capital, Bosch Ventures also runs the Open Bosch program since 2018.

This brings startups together with Bosch’s operating units at an early stage, giving startups a quick and easy opportunity to become a supplier, customer, or technology partner of Bosch.

Bosch, in turn, receives early access to the latest technologies and can incorporate them together with its partners into joint innovations.

“This win-win partnership enables Bosch to strengthen and secure its innovation efficiency and support the company’s long-term success,” Ramesohl says. Bosch has already established several hundred partnerships with startups through this program. “Bosch also sees startups as important innovation partners,” Ramesohl said. “Open Bosch empowers co-innovation.”

The Bosch Ventures portfolio currently consists of more than 60 active investments. 

“When an investment comes to an end, we support successful exits like IPOs, just as institutional venture-capital funds do,” Ramesohl concludes. “The Bosch Ventures portfolio has already given rise to several successful IPOs.”