Welcome to BASF Venture Capital

We are the corporate venture capital company of the BASF Group. Since 2001, we have been investing worldwide in young, fast-growing companies and funds related to current and future businesses of BASF.

With our investments we focus on the areas of chemistry, new materials, sustainability, digitalization and new, disruptive business models.

Through targeted interactions with BASF Group's global research, partner and customer network, we support our portfolio companies as an active venture capital investor.

At a glance

7 Locations:

Ludwigshafen (DEU), Boston (USA), Austin (USA), Shanghai (CHN), Sao Paulo (BRA), Mumbai (IND) and Tel Aviv (ISR)

Evergreen fund:

€ 250 million

Investment focus:

New Materials | AgTech | Digitization/Industry 4.0 | New, disruptive business models

Typical investment state:

Seed to series B

Investment strategy

We invest in innovative technologies and/or business models developed by customer-oriented teams.

An important aspect of our investment decisions is the connection of the BASF Group’s strategic and operative interests with the technical and commercial development objectives of young companies.

We invest in all phases of company development. Technological and market-oriented proof of concept is an important argument for us. We generally aim for minority shares – as a rule together with other venture capital syndicate funds.

About us

With offices in San Francisco, Boston, Austin, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Mumbai and Tel Aviv as well as at group headquarters in Ludwigshafen, we build bridges between young companies and BASF. An experienced venture capital team with financial, business and technological knowhow, backed by the BASF Group’s network of experts, is responsible for examining suitability for investment.

Our portfolio

Our portfolio includes young companies in the fields of new materials, AgTech, digitalization, sustainability and new, disruptive business models.

In addition to these direct investments, BASF Venture Capital also holds shares in technology funds.

BASF Venture Capital invests in leading industrial artificial intelligence company IntelliSense.io

Cambridge, England, and Ludwigshafen, Germany, August 18, 2020 – IntelliSense.io and BASF Venture Capital (BVC) today announced that BVC is leading a strategic investment round in IntelliSense.io with follow-on participation from a group of U.K.-based technology angel investors including Dr. Steve Garnett and Stephen Kelly. IntelliSense.io is a leading provider of AI-based solutions for the global mining industry. Its customers include mining majors and diversified mining groups.

BASF invests in SmartAHC, a provider of digital solutions for pig farming / BASF investiert in SmartAHC, einen Anbieter digitaler Lösungen für die Schweinezucht

BASF invests in technology company SmartAHC, a specialist in artificial intelligence for animal husbandry

Shanghai, China, and Ludwigshafen, Germany, July 20, 2020 – BASF Venture Capital is investing in SmartAHC, a leading supplier of digitalization solutions for pig farming on the Chinese market. SmartAHC was founded in 2014 by graduates of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. The Shanghai-based startup provides customized digital solutions to increase efficiency throughout the pork value chain. Other investors include specialty chemicals producer Evonik and China’s Shenzhen Sinoagri E-Commerce.

BASF invests in pioneering Israeli AgTech startup Equinom

Givat Brenner, Israel, and Ludwigshafen, Germany, December 12, 2019 – BASF Venture Capital is the lead investor in a funding round for Israeli AgTech startup Equinom. Equinom's computerized breeding technology provides optimized seeds for the food industry to help it meet growing demand for plant-based products used as ingredients, clean label packed goods and healthier lifestyle cuisine. With this investment, BASF Venture Capital promotes BASF’s strategy of applying innovative solutions in agriculture. Existing investors who also joined this round include, among others, Fortissimo Capital, a leading Israeli private equity fund that invests primarily in the technology, AgTech and industrial sectors, as well as Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients for food, nutrition and health markets and a pioneer in new vegetal proteins.

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