Bosch’s venture arm has just announced its fifth fund and says it is looking for startups with the “potential to improve quality of life and conserve natural resources.” The new $295 million (€250 million) investment vehicle raises the stakes of Bosch VC’s previous fund by around $53 million, but the German company’s overall focus on deep tech remains largely the same. For Bosch VC, that nebulous category includes everything from self-driving vehicles to internet-of-things platforms. Climate technology is also on the company’s radar, including solar power, carbon capture and alternative fuels, managing director Ingo Ramesohl said in a call with TechCrunch. Bosch VC typically backs startups at the Series A or Series B stage, investing up to around $27 million each (€25 million). Compared to its German parent company, a 135-year-old conglomerate, Bosch VC is run by a relatively small team of 22 investment managers. That number will grow, according to Ramesohl, with the pending launch of a new US office in Boston. The East Coast office is coming “very soon, basically next week,” Ramesohl added. It will exist next to the Bosch VC office in Sunnyvale, CA. In addition to backing climate technology startups, Bosch recently said it would invest around $3.5 billion to develop “climate-neutral” technology, including vehicle electrification, hydrogen electrolysers and heat pumps.
