BASF Venture Capital
Corporate venture capital company of BASF SE
Also known as BASF Venture Capital GmbH, BASF VC
Corporate VC company of BASF (since 2001): €250m evergreen fund, €1–5m minority stakes at seed to Series B in chemistry-related startups and VC funds worldwide.
Corporate venture arm of BASF; not to be confused with BASF Pensionskasse VVaG (BASF's pension fund, slug basf-pensionskasse).
- HEADQUARTERS
- Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
- FOUNDED
- 2001
- AUM
- €250M (2026)
- OUTSIDE CAPITAL
- No — own capital only
- TEAM LISTED
- 3 people
FOCUS
- STAGES
- SeedSeries ASeries B
- SECTORS
- Climate & EnergyIndustrial & ManufacturingDeep TechBiotech & Life SciencesArtificial IntelligenceSoftware & SaaSFood & Agriculture
- ASSET MIX
- Venture capital
- GEOGRAPHY
- Global
WHAT IT IS
Corporate VC. A corporation investing from its own balance sheet, usually with strategic goals.
ABOUT
BASF Venture Capital GmbH is the corporate venture capital company of the BASF Group, founded in 2001 and based in Ludwigshafen, with further locations in Boston and Shanghai. It invests worldwide in startups and venture funds whose technologies relate to chemistry, with focus areas in CO2 reduction, circular economy, new materials, biotechnology, and AI and software solutions, and it brokers cooperation between portfolio companies and BASF units. It takes minority stakes of €1–5 million, typically from seed to Series B, out of a €250 million evergreen fund. Heike Pfistner has been managing director since 1 March 2026, succeeding Roland Nunheim.
INVESTMENT THESIS
Invests worldwide in startups and funds with disruptive technologies and business models around chemistry: CO2 reduction, circular economy, new materials, biotechnology, and AI and software; typically after technical and commercial proof of concept, taking minority stakes and brokering cooperation with BASF units.
PORTFOLIO (39)
- ACT-ionClimate & Energy
- Group14Climate & Energy
- DePolyClimate & Energy
- Lactips S.A.Industrial & Manufacturing
- OceanworksClimate & Energy
- pH7 TechnologiesClimate & Energy
- Sea6 Energy Pvt. Ltd.Food & Agriculture
- Bellatrix Aerospace Pvt. Ltd.Space
- BigRep GmbHIndustrial & Manufacturing
- P2 Science, Inc.Industrial & Manufacturing
- PhomeraDeep Tech
- PrismLab China Ltd.Industrial & Manufacturing
- Bota BioBiotech & Life Sciences
- EquinomFood & Agriculture
- FortePhest Ltd.Food & Agriculture
- Groundwork BioAgFood & Agriculture
- Provivi, Inc.Food & Agriculture
- inDecoSoftware & SaaS
- Grão DiretoFood & Agriculture
- InsideTrackerHealthTech
- IntelliSense.ioArtificial Intelligence
- TraiveFintech
- WayBeyondFood & Agriculture
- ComputomicsFood & Agriculture
- EAVisionFood & Agriculture
- ecoRobotix AGFood & Agriculture
- SmartAHCFood & Agriculture
- UrbanKisaanFood & Agriculture
- Alchemist Accelerator (fund)
- ARCH Venture Partners (fund)
- China Environment Fund IV (fund)
- Climentum Capital (fund)
- CM Venture Fund II (fund)
- Fintech GIMV (FGI) (fund)
- High-Tech Gründerfonds (fund)
- Longwater Advanced Materials Fund (fund)
- Omnivore (fund)
- Quantonation (fund)
- SP Ventures (fund)
TEAM
LINKS
FAQ
BASF Venture Capital is a corporate venture arm based in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany, founded in 2001.
Yes. BASF Venture Capital invests directly in private companies. It also commits capital to third-party funds as an LP.
BASF Venture Capital invests at Seed, Series A and Series B stages in Climate & Energy, Industrial & Manufacturing, Deep Tech, Biotech & Life Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Software & SaaS and Food & Agriculture.
BASF Venture Capital's stated ticket size is €1M–€5M.
Key people at BASF Venture Capital include Heike Pfistner (Managing Director (Geschäftsführerin) since 1 March 2026), Roland Nunheim (Former Managing Director (until February 2026; moved to a new role within BASF)) and Vanessa Holzhäuser (Communications).
BASF Venture Capital's investments include ACT-ion, Group14, DePoly, Lactips S.A., Oceanworks, pH7 Technologies, Sea6 Energy Pvt. Ltd. and Bellatrix Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., among others.
The most recent publicly reported investment by BASF Venture Capital is pH7 Technologies (Series B (existing investor)), announced in Dec 2025.
No. BASF Venture Capital invests its own capital and does not raise money from outside investors.