Kai Engelhardt has been Managing Director at Brose Ventures, the Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) arm of Germany-based automotive parts producer Brose, since joining the company in 2020.
First announced in late 2019, Brose Ventures forms part of an investment initiative of Brose that involves deploying €1.5bn to €2bn ($1.6bn to $2.2bn) of capital into innovation. Previously, Brose had conducted a number of corporate venturing deals, including participating in rounds raised by 3D metal printer developer Aim3D in 2018 and electric drive developer Torqeedo six years before.
Torqeedo was acquired by engine manufacturer Deutz in 2017. Just recently, Brose invested in Tset, an Austria-based AI-driven cost calculation software with integrated carbon dioxide simulation.
Brose is an automotive tier-1 supplier driven by mechatronics. Brose produces electronically commutated motors, car doors and seat systems. The CVC subsidiary concentrates on innovations relevant to Brose’s new areas of business and existing operations.
Talking to Brose’s in-house magazine in early 2022, Engelhardt summarised: “Brose is looking for startups that offer new approaches to vehicle access, the interior or additions to our drive concepts. Our focus is on solutions that make our products smarter and enable additional customer benefits – for example, with the help of sensor technology, software or new materials.”
Prior to Brose, Engelhardt had been with the tier-1 supplier Mahle for nearly 12 years, leading global digitalisation for three years and corporate strategy for a similar amount of time, and established and ran its CVC unit from late 2012 to 2018.
Engelhardt holds a Master of Engineering from University of Konstanz and an MBA from University of Lugano. He holds degrees in venture capital and private equity from Technical University of Munich and a chief digital officer certificate from RWTH Aachen University.
