Marcus Behrendt
1 May 2026Earnings Call Bonanza, OpenAI Trial, Legora $50M Extension CRO Joins, King Charles Dinner
Marcus Behrendt (BMW i Ventures): $300M Fund III & AI in the Factory
Marcus Behrendt announces BMW i Ventures' third fund — a $300M commitment from BMW as sole LP — continuing prior focus areas with a new AI lens spanning agentic AI, physical AI/robotics, and AI-driven process engineering. He gives plant-floor examples like Embotech's autonomous vehicle movement and AI-assisted 'fix it right first time' quality control, noting drop-in solutions deploy fast while anything touching the production car carries long lead times. He stresses the fund invests independently at full VC risk while drawing expert opinions from BMW's engineers without obligation, argues large corporates need a venture unit with a 'license to fail,' and cites co-investments with Toyota, Porsche, Volvo and Airbus venture arms.
8 Nov 2025Armis raises $435M, Attio updates, Sequoia shifts, Google Maps joins, Palantir dips Big Short 2 more
Marcus Behrendt (BMW i Ventures): Corporate VC & European Exits
BMW i Ventures managing director Marcus Behrendt explains how the corporate fund operates like a financially driven VC with BMW as a single LP, why it's headquartered in Silicon Valley with a Munich office for Europe, and how its ~€300 million funds write €1–10 million checks from Series A to C. He says BMW has no acquisition agenda — about 95% of portfolio companies become suppliers — and outlines an AI focus on B2B applications rather than new LLMs, alongside material science and sustainability. He also argues Europe needs one big trading hub so startups get exit routes that don't force them abroad.
7 Nov 2025etn. Episode 8
BMW i Ventures' Marcus Behrendt on Corporate VC & European Exits
Marcus Behrendt, Managing Director of BMW i Ventures, explains the fund's model: financially driven with BMW as sole LP, headquartered in Silicon Valley since 2017 with a Munich office, writing $1–10M checks with follow-on reserves. He outlines the scope (silicon, deep tech, materials, sustainability, services, fintech), stresses the fund is not scouting acquisitions — 95% of portfolio companies won't be bought by an OEM — and says AI hype is making non-AI sectors more attractive. He also backs the idea of a pan-European stock exchange to give startups local exit routes.