Ruslan Bekbulatov, investment principal at Bosch Ventures, is one of our top 50 Emerging Leaders in corporate venturing for 2025.
Being a startup-friendly investor is of paramount importance for Ruslan Bekbulatov. The strategic element is very important, but should not come at the expense of sound financial stewardship and never at the expense of the startup’s best interest.
“Being a corporate VC, you need to keep a very good relationship with the business units, but you should not be their fulfilment arm for investments,” he says. “There are good reasons to do investments from the business unit side, but CVCs should aim to take their investment decisions freely. Pushing for group interest is not healthy for our industry and not healthy for the startups.”
Over the years, he has learned that without a good founding team, good technology can be wasted. “The importance of the team – despite any type of technology advantage – is crucial to getting that technology advantage commercialised and scaled up and ultimately portfolio companies sold,” he says.
“His comprehensive understanding of global markets and technological advancements makes him a key figure in the investment community”
Robotics, automation and first real-world applications for quantum technologies are among the things he is most excited to see develop over the next year or two.
“Ruslan has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to fostering innovation and driving the growth of startups. His comprehensive understanding of global markets and technological advancements makes him a key figure in the investment community,” says Ankita Singh, investment director at Bosch Ventures.
Singh says Bekbulatov was also critical in esta blishing the Boston office of Bosch Ventures, expanding the organisation’s CVC footprint in the US.
Bekbulatov hopes that despite restrictive corporate IT departments, CVCs will avail themselves of a new generation of modern and sophisticated IT tools that other investors are already using to help them be more efficient and take better decisions.
See the full list of Emerging Leaders 2025 here.
