BMW i Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of Germany-based automotive manufacturer BMW, has promoted senior associate Baris Guzel to principal.
Guzel joined BMW i Ventures in March 2017 after six months as a venture capital associate at VC firm Presidio Partners. He had previously spent a year working as a technology investment banking associate at financial services firm Deutsche Bank.
During his time at the unit, Guzel has taken board observer positions at security tool developer Vera Security, on-demand manufacturing platform developer Xometry and street-level mapping data provider Mapillary.
Guzel has also been involved in the fund’s investment in cybersecurity software developer Claroty, electric vehicle charging station operator Chargepoint and virtual training software provider Strivr.
The carmaker launched BMW i Ventures in 2016 with $530m to invest in autonomous driving, digital car, e-mobility, artificial intelligence, shared and on-demand mobility and energy services technologies.