Announcing Thomas Molleker’s Promotion to Principal

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Since joining BMW i Ventures in 2021 as an Associate in our Munich office, Thomas has grown into an important member of our investing team, with a track record that reflects both strong judgment and steady progression. After being promoted to Senior Associate in 2024, we are now proud to promote him to Principal.

Over the past several years, Thomas has played a key role in investments including Rive, AMPECO, Embotech, and DeepDrive. Across these companies, his work has reflected a consistent focus on technologies that are reshaping how products are designed, operated, and scaled across mobility, software, and industrial systems.

In the conversation below, Thomas reflects on how his role has evolved from learning the venture craft from mentors around him to developing his own investing instincts and conviction. He shares what excites him most about the next chapter, from the rise of ROI-driven agentic AI workflows to the opportunity to build stronger bridges across startups, corporates, and investors. He also discusses the kinds of founders who stand out to him and how he sees AI transforming not just the companies we back, but the way investment firms themselves operate.

We are excited to celebrate Thomas’s promotion to Principal and to share more of how he thinks about the future.

‍Q: Looking back on your time at the firm so far, how has your role as an investor evolved?

A: When I first joined BMW i Ventures in 2021, the focus was on learning the playbook from the great mentors around me. Over time, that has shifted toward developing my own judgment and understanding what makes a great investment. In many ways, it feels like training a pattern recognition muscle, building conviction through experience and forming non-consensus views.

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Q: What are you most excited to take on in this next chapter at the fund?

A: I’m excited to further build bridges across the different worlds we operate in. We sit at the intersection of startups, corporates, and investors across geographies and technologies. Bringing together the best from these worlds, linking ideas and talent, and identifying cross-industry applications will drive long-term financial performance in my view.

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Q: Are there particular sectors or themes you’re especially excited about right now?

A: One of the great things about working at BMW i Ventures is the breadth of topics we get exposed to. We are constantly looking a decade into the future to see what technologies will drive the industry. Right now, I’m particularly excited about how enterprise software is evolving toward ROI-driven agentic AI workflows. What I’m looking for are ideas that can fundamentally change the cost structure or unlock additional revenue streams. Concretely, I’m spending a lot of time in agentic workflows in design and engineering and software development and maintenance. In many ways, it feels like looking for business models that are the “picks and shovels” in the AI gold rush era.

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Q: Could you highlight a few investments you’ve worked on that you’re especially proud of?

A: One common theme that has stood out recently is how AI is becoming more embedded into operational workflows at scale. Across companies like Rive, Embotech, and AMPECO, I’m seeing fundamental changes to how products are built, operated, and scaled.

For example, the team at AMPECO just launched their CoOperator, an AI operating agent that makes using the EV charging platform even more powerful and makes large EV networks easier to manage.

Rive just added an AI coding agent that makes it easier to build, iterate, and ship production-ready user interfaces. Their platform enables teams to design and deploy interactive graphics that are consistent and performant across platforms, bridging the gap between design and development.

Embotech is bringing AI-driven autonomy at scale into ports and industrial plants. What started as maneuvering cars at BMW plants is now scaling into port operations and other industrial and logistic applications, leveraging AI across perception and motion planning.

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Q: What kinds of founders or problems tend to pull your attention the most?

A: Three factors consistently stand out to me in great teams: (i) selling a vision, (ii) acting with urgency, and (iii) combining technical understanding with commercial awareness.

The best founders can bring others along, whether it’s attracting top talent, winning customers, or aligning investors. At the same time, they operate with a strong sense of urgency, have a clear view of ‘why now,' and take ownership while competing against an invisible clock. Finally, the most compelling teams combine deep technical expertise with the ability to translate it into scalable business models.

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Q: What motivates you most in your work as an investor?

A: The unique combination of continuous learning and working with exceptional people motivates me. Investing is a constant exercise in intellectual curiosity. You’re a lifelong learner with exposure to forward thinkers and new technologies that are about to disrupt existing industries.

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Q: Looking ahead, what are you most excited to build in this next phase of your investing career?

A: A big focus for me personally has been on improving tools and processes within our daily operations. We’re at a unique point where advances in AI allow us to rethink how investment firms operate. We can now build internal tooling across sourcing, due diligence, and reporting that enables better and more data-driven decisions at scale.

However, I believe venture remains a people-driven business at its core. Spending time with exceptional people is still the highest ROI activity in this job. If you’re building something or want to exchange ideas, I’d love to connect.

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