Bertelsmann Investments Further Accelerates Organic Revenue Growth to 45 Percent in First Half of 2026

• Revenues increase to €451 million

• Organic growth of 45.1 percent

• Operating EBITDA adjusted increases to €57 million

• 41 new and follow-on investments totaling more than €100 million

• Portfolio comprises 328 active investments worldwide

• AppLike achieves organic growth of 54 percent

• New futurepresent and Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments funds launched

• Carsten Coesfeld: "We are growing profitably while continuing to invest systematically in the next generation of growth companies."

• Highly successful Shiprocket IPO in August: Valued at $1.1 billion after first day of trading

Bertelsmann Investments (BI) significantly accelerated its growth in the first half of 2026. BI's revenues, generated by the business activities of its Bertelsmann Next growth unit, increased to €451 million (H1 2025: €280 million). Organic growth was 45.1 percent, driven in particular by the strong performance of mobile ad tech platform AppLike. Operating EBITDA adjusted increased to €57 million (H1 2025: €43 million).

Bertelsmann Investments' venture capital activities also continued their strong performance in the first half of the year. BI made a total of 22 new and 19 follow-on investments, investing more than €100 million in innovative companies and funds. As of June 30, 2026, its active portfolio comprised 328 investments worldwide. Since launching its venture capital activities in 2006, BI has invested a total of around €2.3 billion in companies and funds.

Bertelsmann Investments' EBIT, the key performance indicator for its venture capital activities, improved to €122 million, compared with -€98 million in the prior-year period. This was driven in particular by positive valuation effects in the investment portfolio.

Carsten Coesfeld, CEO of Bertelsmann Investments, said: "Bertelsmann Investments had a very strong first half of 2026. Bertelsmann Next is delivering profitable growth in attractive growth markets, while we continue to invest systematically in the next generation of growth companies. AppLike's organic growth of 54 percent is a particularly strong example of the potential of our Next strategy."

Coesfeld continued: "At the same time, we have established two new funds, futurepresent and Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments, to expand our venture capital activities in strategically important growth areas. We are focusing in particular on the major technological shifts being driven by artificial intelligence and on the transatlantic healthcare market."

In the Bertelsmann Next business unit, BI builds growth businesses in mobile ad tech, HR tech, pharma tech, and the Indian market. AppLike continued its strong growth, achieving organic growth of 54 percent as it further expanded its international business. Pharma tech company cormeo grew organically by 16.5 percent and launched innovative new products. EMBRACE expanded its portfolio of solutions, particularly for companies that train apprentices and public-sector organizations. Indian logistics company LetsTransport, which was integrated into Bertelsmann Next following BI's acquisition of a majority stake in the fourth quarter of 2025, likewise recorded strong growth of 55 percent.

BI also maintained a high level of activity across its international venture capital portfolio:

Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI): Follow-on investments included MStar, a fintech company focused on Mexico and other Latin American markets, and Meshy.AI, an AI company specializing in the creation of 3D models.

Bertelsmann India Investments (BII): New investments included Fairdeal, a B2B quick-commerce platform for on-demand deliveries to small retailers in India. Follow-on investments included Handpickd, a B2C commerce platform, beauty company Nat Habit, and Snabbit, a technology-based platform connecting households with domestic service providers. In August, BII portfolio company Shiprocket completed a highly successful IPO in India. Shiprocket was valued at $1.1 billion at the end of its first day of trading, following an IPO of around $170 million. BII remains the company's largest institutional investor, with a stake of around 19 percent.

futurepresent: The fund, launched in March 2026, focuses on areas including physical AI, AI infrastructure, and industry-specific AI agents. In the first half of the year, futurepresent's new investments included Planlab.AI, a provider of AI-powered project planning software. It also made a follow-on investment in General Intuition, a company that trains AI agents to navigate, act, and make decisions in real-world environments.

Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments (BHI): The fund, launched in January 2026, brings together BI's venture capital activities in the transatlantic healthcare market. In the first half of the year, BHI's new investments included Take2, an AI-powered recruiting platform that accelerates hiring processes in healthcare through automated voice and chat interviews.

Deniz Pielsticker, CFO of Bertelsmann Investments, said: "We continued to make strong progress in the first half of the year, with improvements in revenues, profitability, and portfolio value. We maintained a high level of investment activity, making more than €100 million in new and follow-on investments. Since 2006, we have invested around €2.3 billion in innovative companies and funds worldwide."

About Bertelsmann Investments
Bertelsmann Investments (BI), as a global investment platform dedicated to driving best-in-class returns and empowering entrepreneurship worldwide, bundles the venture capital activities of the Bertelsmann Group as well as the growth unit Bertelsmann Next. The venture capital arm comprises the funds Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI), Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), futurepresent, and Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments (BHI), as well as selected fund and direct investments in Europe, the US, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, among other regions. The Bertelsmann Next unit is home to Bertelsmann's incubation efforts and buy-and-build strategies, with a focus on new growth industries and markets, particularly mobile ad tech (AppLike), HR tech (EMBRACE), pharma tech (cormeo), and India (LetsTransport). Through its fund network and Next activities, Bertelsmann Investments has invested around €2.3 billion in around 500 innovative companies and funds. Bertelsmann Investments currently holds more than 300 active investments worldwide, partners with leading entrepreneurs and venture funds, and is home to entrepreneurial talent.