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More space for maverick thinkers

Bosch start-ups now have a new home

  • Robert Bosch Start-up GmbH moves into 5,000 square-meter former factory shop
  • Workspaces designed by artists
  • Creative environment to foster innovative business ideas
Christiane Wild-Raidt

Christiane Wild-Raidt >

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Ludwigsburg, Germany – To get a proper impression of Robert Bosch Start-up GmbH’s new facility in Ludwigsburg, visitors need to take their time. There is a lot for them to discover: Retro armchairs look very inviting and Persian carpets create a living-room feel, while colorful metal structures make sure that things do not get too cozy. After all, this is still a place of work. Not one of the six unconventionally designed rooms is alike. It is now possible, for example, to hold a team meeting in a Norwegian chalet. But why all the fuss? “Meeting in a new setting different from normal office surroundings helps associates come up with completely new ideas and put them into practice,” says Peter Guse, the general manager of Robert Bosch Start-up GmbH. The idea is to have as many different stimuli as possible for as many as 250 future associates. It is hoped these will help them see things from a completely new perspective. Bosch is investing roughly three million euros in the new premises.

From associate to entrepreneur

At the end of 2013, Guse and his team started out with the aim of encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit internally and using it to identify new business in new markets. Just over four years later, this is still their aim. The objective is to bring products and services to market sooner than is possible in a large company. For example, there are the sensor solutions that the Bosch start-up Deepfield Connect provides to make work easier for farmers. “Our flat hierarchy and shorter communication channels speed up processes,” Guse says. A creative work environment is the ideal framework. This was why artists were given free rein to decorate the old factory that was to become the future home of Robert Bosch Start-up GmbH.

Using a wide range of materials from Bosch factories, they collaborated with associates to create new workspaces. Start-up associates now have 5,000 square meters at their disposal. The new space offers plenty of room for maverick thinkers who want to use innovative ideas to develop new business and exciting products for Bosch. “We are lending teams our support not only in terms of space. We are also critical partners in all aspects of successful business development – from HR support, financing and business planning, right up to legal issues and marketing,” Guse says. In this way, associates become entrepreneurs. Aside from the in-house start-ups, innovation teams from Bosch divisions will also work at the new premises. Peter Guse and his team from Robert Bosch Start-up GmbH will be on hand to help turn good ideas into innovative products and services.

About Bosch

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 428,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2023). According to preliminary figures, the company generated sales of 91.6 billion euros in 2023. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. As a leading IoT provider, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, Industry 4.0, and connected mobility. Bosch is pursuing a vision of mobility that is sustainable, safe, and exciting. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its own IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to facilitate connected living with products and solutions that either contain artificial intelligence (AI) or have been developed or manufactured with its help. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.” The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 470 subsidiary and regional companies in over 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. The basis for the company’s future growth is its innovative strength. At 136 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 90,000 associates in research and development, of which roughly 48,000 are software engineers.

The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861–1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.” The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant upfront investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-four percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The remaining shares are held by Robert Bosch GmbH and by a corporation owned by the Bosch family. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com.

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