Carsten Coesfeld, CEO of Bertelsmann Investments, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2025 Powerlist.
Carsten Coesfeld has been CEO of Bertelsmann Investments since June 2022, and under his leadership the investment arm of the German media, services and education company has increased its investment pace and geographic spread.
Founded in 2006, Bertelsmann Investments comprises three venture capital units: Bertelsmann Asia Investment, Bertelsmann India Investments and Bertelsmann Central Investments, as well a growth unit called Bertelsmann Next. The investment team has put a total of around €1.9bn into startups since it was founded and currently has an active portfolio of 379 companies.
Even so, 2024 was a strong year for the unit, with the team making 58 investments, backing 34 new and 24 follow-on startup funding rounds. Coesfeld has championed a global diversification strategy at the unit, with 2024 seeing expanded investments in high-potential markets such as India and Latin America. Bertelsmann has backed a number of Indian startups, including online farming advice platform Agrostar and healthcare service provider Orange Health, and indicated, in an earning press release earlier this year, that India would continue to be a focus for the company.
In 2024 Bertelsmann Investments’ revenues surged by 30.4% to €563m.
Notably, Coesfeld’s tenure has also seen a strong emphasis on emerging technologies, including digital health and generative AI, with recent investments in companies such as Ataraxis AI, PI Health and Mistral AI.
Returns on investment last year was a record-breaking one for the unit. Bertelsmann Investments’ revenues surged by 30.4% to €563m, while organic growth was 59.5%. The venture capital arm also saw a remarkable turnaround in earnings before interest and tax, which climbed to €85m from a previous €219m loss.
Organic growth was to a large part boosted by AppLike Group, an app marketing and mobile games company in which Bertelsmann holds a majority stake and which is part of the Bertelsmann Next growth division. AppLike Group achieved organic growth of 180% last year.
Before heading Bertelsmann Investments, Coesfeld held leadership positions at a number of Bertelsmann companies, including DK and Arvato.
The Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
