Kendra Rauschenberger, general partner at Siemens Energy Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2026 Powerlist.
Kendra Rauschenberger “fell in love” with the impact that corporate venturing can have when done right, when she was part of a small entrepreneurial team dealing with business development and marketing additive manufacturing. So, when the opportunity came to build the venturing unit for Siemens Energy in 2020, she did not hesitate to accept the role.
Siemens Energy Ventures uses a venturing model that combines venture clienting and corporate venture capital to engage with startups focused on accelerating the energy transition, covering areas like clean power generation, grid technologies, storage and industrial decarbonisation.
Rauschenberger also cares deeply about furthering diversity in the energy industry and strives to “make the systemic shifts we need to get to gender parity – step by step”. Her instigation of the creation of the female equity scholarship with Carbon 13 is a prime example of this.
As a CVC, Siemens Energy offers investment to early-to-growth stage startups that are aligned with Siemens Energy’s strategy. Investment decisions are tied to strategic roadmaps, and success is not only judged by valuation uplifts but also by commercial traction, such as pilot projects, joint development agreements and revenue contribution, which complements the venture clienting programmes.
Externally, Siemens Energy Ventures has become more visible as a partner of choice for startups navigating industrial scale-up while still doing relatively few deals each year, such as Factor2 Energy’s $9.1m round in September last year. The signal it sends is clear: this is not “tourist capital”. It comes with engineering expertise, global market access, and a willingness to co-develop.
In a sector where timelines are long and risks are structural, this model may prove more valuable than traditional venture approaches. It also raises the bar. Corporate venture units in energy are no longer judged by how many deals they do, but by whether they can move the needle on deployment.
Rauschenberger’s challenge and opportunity is to sustain this balance: maintaining venture agility while operating inside one of the world’s most complex industrial organisations.
The GCV 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.
Here’s a snapshot of their recent deals:
