“I started to dive into markets that were a little bit further out, specifically the space industry, to understand what the applications were within mobility,” says Joseph Tenbusch, an investment manager at Magna Technology Investments (MTI), part of car part manufacturer Magna International.
MTI spans mobility, electrification, battery technologies, autonomous vehicles and industry 4.0, aligning with Magna’s value chain.
Tenbusch’s expertise lies in automotive batteries and electrification, but other industries also caught his attention.
“One thing I learned in the past 18 months was to keep a very open mind about investments because corporate venture investors will often be very focused on what their parent company does and look for areas where they are being disrupted,” says Tenbusch.
“One thing I learned in the past 18 months was to keep a very open mind about investments.”
“Often, the more interesting areas that I found are the overlapping of industries, such as space and mobility, defence and mobility, and energy and mobility.”
Tenbusch joined MTI in May 2022. This is his first job in corporate venture capital. With a background in engineering, strategic sales and consulting, he has spent his entire career in the automotive industry since 2010.
Having helped the unit invest in Vertex’s regional venture capital fund in Southeast Asia and India last year, Tenbusch is set to take a limited partner advisory board position in the fund. He also helped MTI invest in an undisclosed Silicon Valley-based fund.
“We are working very closely with the Vertex team, almost treating them as an extension of our team,” Tenbusch says.
“When you are a strategic investor, it is also good to have a financial VC to pull you back and tell you about India’s ecosystem including demographic shifts and market approach.”
Tenbusch was also involved in the unit’s investment in Israeli battery startup Addionics in 2022. MTI is supporting the company with raising series B funding this year.
See the full list of GCV Rising Stars for 2024 here.