The venture arm of Bosch has a new $270 million fund that will continue its tradition of investing in deep-tech startups. This time, however, Bosch Ventures plans to put more of its money into North American startups.
Launched in 2007, Bosch Ventures is now on its sixth fund. And while the corporate VC is technically a global firm, its focus today is weighted more heavily towards North America.
The strategy may seem contradictory given this is a region affected by a U.S. administration policy that has led to a U.S. trade war with China, a volatile stock market, and fears of a recession. But Bosch Ventures’ managing director, Ingo Ramesohl, told TechCrunch the deal flow in North America is stronger than ever.
“I see a lot of positive energy,” Ramesohl said. “People are not stopping to innovate and not stopping to disrupt. So for me, it’s really a great time for new investments.”
The firm, which has offices in Silicon Valley, Boston, Germany, Tel Aviv, and China, typically makes investments between $5 million and $10 million. Ramesohl said the firm will likely make 20 to 25 investments from this fund.
“This is basically a continuation of the success stories of the last funds,” Ramesohl said, when asked which tech sectors he is most interested in.
The firm is still investing in automotive, climate tech, cybersecurity, semiconductor manufacturing, energy efficiency, and enterprise software. Generative AI, more specifically, applying AI tools to the physical world like manufacturing, is also high on the list.
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“We are not entirely focusing on gen AI,” Ramesohl said.
Still, AI has been a centerpiece of the manufacturing company since at least 2017, when it established the Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence. The company has said — and Ramesohl confirmed — that all Bosch products are now developed or produced using AI, a milestone it hit at the end of 2023.
“Gen AI is changing a lot, and at the same time, it’s enabling a lot of new businesses, a lot of new innovations,” he said, noting that, in his view, the most promising applications of AI are in operations.