Bosch VC launches $295M fund for deep tech startups – TechCrunch

Bosch’s venture arm just announced its fifth fund, saying it’s on the lookout for startups with the “potential to improve quality of life and conserve natural resources.”

The new, $295 million (€250 million) investment vehicle ups the stakes from Bosch VC‘s prior fund by about $53 million, yet the German firm’s global focus on deep tech remains much the same. For Bosch VC, that nebulous category includes everything from autonomous vehicles to internet-of-things platforms.

Climate tech is also on the firm’s radar—including solar, carbon capture and alternative fuels, managing director Ingo Ramesohl said in a call with TechCrunch. Typically, Bosch VC backs startups at the Series A or B stage, investing up to about $27 million apiece (€25 million).

Compared to its German parent company, a 135-year-old conglomerate, Bosch VC is run by a relatively small team with 22 investment managers. That number is set to grow, according to Ramesohl, with the pending launch of a new U.S. office in Boston. The East Coast office is coming “very soon, basically next week,” added Ramesohl. It’ll exist alongside Bosch VC’s office in Sunnyvale, CA.

As well as backing climate-tech startups, Bosch recently said it would drop around $3.5 billion to develop “climate-neutral” tech, including vehicle electrification, hydrogen electrolyzers, and heat pumps.