Investor Profile: Bosch Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Winning Bosch Ventures funding means pitching one of Europe's most active deep-tech corporate investors. Established in 2007 as Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC) and now operating as Bosch Ventures, it is the corporate venture capital arm of the Bosch Group. In May 2025 it announced a new €250 million fund — its sixth — aimed at early-stage and scale-up deep-tech startups in AI, energy efficiency, automation, climatetech and quantum computing. With a managed portfolio exceeding $1.1 billion and more than 60 active investments, it remains one of the continent's largest CVCs.

Thesis

Bosch Ventures invests worldwide in innovative startups at all stages of development, but only where the technology touches areas of current and future relevance for Bosch: above all, automation and electrification, climate technologies, enabling technologies, and healthcare systems. It also backs services and business models relevant to those areas. The strategy is deliberately strategic as well as financial — portfolio companies are expected to generate real co-innovation with Bosch's operating divisions, not just returns.

Sectors & stages

The fund covers seed through to late and growth stages. Priority sectors are artificial intelligence, energy efficiency, automation, climatetech, quantum computing, medical technology and enabling software technologies. It is a global operation with offices across Germany, the US, Israel and China, screening more than 2,000 startups a year and backing six to ten carefully selected companies annually.

Fund size & cheque size

The headline number is the €250 million sixth fund announced in May 2025, taking the managed portfolio past $1.1 billion. Bosch Ventures has not published a current cheque-size range for the new fund, so treat exact ticket sizes as not publicly disclosed. Historically, RBVC's published guidance put initial investments from below €500,000 at seed to over €5 million at early-to-late stage, with aggregate allocations of €6–15 million per portfolio company for a 10–25% equity stake — figures from its earlier published releases that give a reasonable sense of scale.

Notable portfolio

Current headline names include German AI company Aleph Alpha, quantum computing startups IonQ and Quantum Motion, Xometry, Arduino, battery-recycling innovator Li Industries and Chinese autonomous-driving firm TrunkTech. The active portfolio stands at more than 60 companies.

Partners / team

The fund is led by managing director Ingo Ramesohl, who has fronted its public announcements and strategy. At group level, Bosch chairman Stefan Hartung has personally backed the venture programme, calling startups a reliable partner for the group even in adverse economic conditions.

Programs & perks

The signature instrument is the Open Bosch Program, launched in 2018, which pairs startups directly with Bosch's business divisions for co-innovation — accelerated technology transfer, joint development, and a fast track to becoming a supplier, customer or technology partner of Bosch. It gives founders access to Bosch's R&D depth, global customer reach and industrial infrastructure alongside capital.

How to apply for funding from Bosch Ventures

There is no public application form. The official route is through the contact channel at bosch.ventures, where founders can reach the regional deal teams. Warm introductions carry real weight — and startups with a concrete collaboration angle should position themselves for the Open Bosch Program, often the fastest door into the relationship.