Marcus Behrendt

Managing Partner at BMW i Ventures · Joined 2018

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Biography

Marcus Behrendt is a Managing Partner at BMW i Ventures, the venture capital fund of the BMW Group, based in Mountain View and Munich. He studied management and engineering at the Technical University of Berlin and spent his early career in car development, working on driver assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control and steer-by-wire before moving from BMW corporate to BMW i Ventures in 2018. His stated focus covers automotive technologies including autonomous driving, control systems, powertrain, electrification and batteries, as well as ASIC development, additive manufacturing, logistics and robotics. He was quoted as Managing Partner in the April 2026 launch of the firm's 300 million dollar Fund III.

Education

Previous Experience

Notable Investments

RecogniAlitheonDeepDriveAscon SystemsRapid Liquid Print

Career Timeline

2018
Moved from BMW corporate to join the BMW i Ventures team in the Bay Area as the firm's first fund came into swing.
2019
Quoted as partner of BMW i Ventures on the firm's investment in AI silicon company Recogni.
2023
Quoted as Managing Director of BMW i Ventures on the firm's co-lead of DeepDrive's 16.1 million dollar Series A.
2023
Quoted as Managing Director of BMW i Ventures on the firm's investment in German digital twin software company Ascon Systems.
2026
Quoted as Managing Partner in BMW i Ventures' launch of its 300 million dollar Fund III focused on physical and agentic AI.

Sources & References

BMW i Ventures - Team ↗BMW i Ventures - Spotlight: featured team member Marcus Behrendt ↗BMW Group PressClub - BMW i Ventures Announces $300 Million Fund to Back AI Startups Reshaping the Automotive Ecosystem ↗BMW Group PressClub - BMW i Ventures Announces Investment in Recogni ↗BMW Group PressClub - BMW i Ventures Announces Investment in Alitheon ↗BMW Group PressClub - BMW i Ventures Co-Leads Investment in New Electric Motor Technology: DeepDrive ↗BMW Group PressClub - BMW i Ventures Announces Investment in German Software Company Ascon Systems ↗