Off the Back of Our Top-Quartile Performing Fund I, We are Excited to Announce Our $300M BMW i Ventures Fund II
Jun 30 — Written by Sam Huang
We’re excited to announce the creation of our new $300M Fund II, which is fully backed by BMW Group. With our new fund, we will double down on investments in early- and mid-stage companies that operate in the transportation, manufacturing, supply chain, and sustainability industries. We’ll continue to operate as a financial investor while striving to be the partner of choice for technology founders who seek to leverage our expertise and network across BMW and the broader automotive industry.
When BMW i Ventures was first established as an independent fund in 2016, we were driven by the motivation of working with the most innovative and fearless founders seeking to change the future of the broader automotive ecosystem. In those early days, we never imagined how far our journey would take us. Along the way, we made investments in over 50 early- and mid-stage startups. We were early backers in disruptive companies such as Autofi, Blackmore, CelLink, Chargepoint, Graphcore, Urgent.ly, Proterra, Purecycle, Solid Power, Tekion, Turntide, Xometry, and many more. Of the investments made in Fund I, we’ve had seven portfolio companies go public so far, with many more hopefully to come.
As such, just a little over five years since the inception of our firm, we are very proud to announce that Fund I performance puts us in the top quartile of firms globally. It’s an outcome none of us could have imagined starting out in our early days, and we’re excited to continue investing in the next generation of automotive, manufacturing, supply chain, and sustainability startups as a team.
New Leadership
With the new fund, we also would like to announce some new changes in our leadership.
It’s with a heavy heart that we must say goodbye to Dr. Ulrich Quay, who had led BMW i Ventures as Managing Director since the inception of our group. Ulrich shepherded the creation and growth of BMW i Ventures from its infant stages, and, for that, our team will sorely miss him. Ulrich will be moving to a new role at BMW Group in Munich, though he will remain an active advisor and friend of the fund.
We’re also excited to announce that Marcus Behrendt and Kasper Sage will become the two new managing partners of BMW i Ventures. Marcus brings over 25 years of expertise in the automotive industry to this leadership position. Before joining BMW i Ventures in 2018, he worked in different management functions in research and development of the BMW Group, as a managing director for a market research company, and in various roles for another automotive OEM. Kasper, who started with the firm at the beginning of Fund I, spent most of his career in Silicon Valley as a venture capital investor with previous roles in management consulting, corporate development and partnerships, as well as in working in startup operating roles.
It’s with great pleasure to also announce the promotion of Baris Guzel to partner. Baris joined the BMW i Ventures team at the beginning of Fund I and has an extensive track record as a former investor at institutional venture capital funds and as an investment banker at top-tier investment banks.
The Future
With the new fund, we will continue to invest in the areas that made Fund I an unexpected but stellar success. While the automotive, manufacturing, and supply chain sectors will remain critical areas for our investment strategy, we seek to double down on our investments in the sustainability sector with Fund II. The growing issues of climate change and environmental destruction shaping our new realities have made sustainability investing a central pillar in our overall investment strategy. Our emphasis on sustainability reflects not merely the core values of the BMW Group but our conviction as individuals in doing what is right for both nature and humans.
We’re committed to supporting and growing the founders we work with every step of their way. We’ve always taken the approach of not merely being savvy financial investors but also value-add partners to both our portfolio companies and the broader BMW group. With Fund II, our aim is to be the partner of choice for founders who seek the connections, know-how, and partnerships across not just BMW but across the automotive industry. We believe this approach will result in real, enduring impact that goes beyond just another dollar in the bank account.
Lastly, we would like to thank all the founders, advisors, ecosystem players, and especially the BMW Group, who made the first Fund I such an exciting and amazing journey for us all. We remain deeply indebted to all of you for your wisdom and support, and we look forward to continuing this journey with you for Fund II.
Sam Huang
BMW i Ventures, Inc. / 2606 Bayshore Parkway / Mountain View, CA 94043 / USA
