Founder Rosberg Ventures | 2016 F1 World Champion
Monte Carlo, Monaco
391K followers
500+ connections
391K followers
500+ connections
About
Nico Rosberg, the 2016 Formula 1 World Champion, has channelled his high-performance ethos from the racetrack to the cutting-edge realm of Innovation, Technology, and Investment. As the CEO and Founder of Rosberg Ventures, he oversees a Fund of Funds strategy that provides an exclusive gateway to investments in startups set to transform the world.
With a portfolio encompassing over 35 direct startup investments, Rosberg has expanded his focus of angel investing to share his exclusive access with premier entrepreneurial families and private investors. Rosberg Ventures goes beyond the traditional role of an investment vehicle, acting as a catalyst for diversified, strategic engagement with the potential for significant societal impact.
Anchored by a Fund of Funds with $200M+ in Assets Under Management, Rosberg Ventures as a platform provides unique access to the world's leading VC firms, while establishing a bridge between global venture capital and Europe's strongest corporate landscape. Driving innovation, strategic partnerships, and the adoption of breakthrough technologies. This Fund of Funds demonstrates Rosberg's commitment to scaling the influence of each investment, with a clear target on innovations that are primed to improve the lives of billions.
Staying connected to his Formula One roots, Rosberg shares his expertise as a commentator for Sky F1 across UK, Germany, and Italy.
He also continues his work as an ambassador for many outstanding brands, such as EnBW, Jungheinrich, and Barilla – focussing on a shift towards electrification, sustainability and impactful transformation through AI solutions, while focussing on strong family-bonding values and togetherness.
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391K followers
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Nico Rosberg shared thisOverconfidence literally almost killed me! And in business, it's the silent thing behind so many failures I see as an investor. Years ago, early in my racing career, I had a stretch where everything was clicking. I was winning. People were telling me I was talented. And somewhere in that noise, I let my ego get ahead of me and almost like I thought I was invincible or I couldn’t get hurt. That was a mistake that could have cost me my life- and it almost did when it led to me crashing at 300km/h!! I was knocked unconscious and woke up in a hospital bed. That crash taught me something I still lean on every day: confidence and overconfidence might FEEL exactly the same in the moment. You almost never catch it before you've crashed. And I see the same pattern taking down founders every single week. It just moves slower. Here are four ways I now tell the difference, in racing and in business: 👉Confidence prepares for what could go wrong. Overconfidence assumes it won't. If nothing has gone wrong recently, that's the exact moment to ask why. Then prepare as it will! (I always plan for the worst cases. Some might think this is pessimistic, but for me- it’s super important!) 👉Confidence respects the small details (the marginal details and gains). Overconfidence, on the other hand, stops noticing them. In F1, a single loose screw or one question left unasked can decide whether you win the race or crash at 300 km/h. In business, one skipped conversation and a fact check can decide your next launch. 👉Confidence sharpens after a win. Overconfidence gets sloppy. The most dangerous moment in any career is the one right after a big result. That's when we quietly stop doing the boring work that got us there. Don’t ever get sloppy!! 👉Confidence knows what could hurt you and competes anyway. Overconfidence has forgotten it can be hurt (case in point- me with the crash) The honest check I run on myself every week: "If this decision went badly, would I be surprised?" If yes, that's confidence; you've prepared for the downside. If it's "it just won't go badly," that's overconfidence talking. Time to slow down. Where have you seen overconfidence show up in yourself recently? Let me know in the comments...
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Nico Rosberg shared thisI used to only feel worthy when I won. That mindset may have made me a World Champion. But it was also the mindset that nearly broke me. For many, many years, my whole sense of self-worth was tied to results. For example, if I won a race, I was somebody. If I lost one, I was nobody. The most successful founders and leaders I meet at Rosberg Ventures often have the exact same wiring. It's rocket fuel for sure. But it's a trap! Here are three things that helped me rewire my mindset that still work for me in business today: 1. Separate the outcome from the identity. In Formula 1, I learned to say "I lost the race", not "I am a loser." This “rephrase” changes everything. In business, one bad quarter is not who you are. Losing a deal is not who you are. 2. Build a scoreboard that isn't just winning. I’m obviously big on winning. But chasing only wins meant I ignored everything else that mattered. Now I track things that compound over years. I look at things like relationships built (I had lunch with two people I really admire the other day, and I thought “wow! this right here is winning!). And also focus on the people you’ve helped along the way. When the wins slow down, looking at these things helps! 3. Ask "what am I building?" more than "am I winning?" Winning is just a moment. What you need to focus on is the building part. Because building is a life. When I stopped measuring myself only by trophies, I actually started enjoying the work. And funnily enough, that's when the results got better too. Do you tie your self-worth to your results too? What's helped you separate the two? Let me know in the comments...
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Nico Rosberg shared this72 hours a week. 9am to 9pm, 6 days straight. That's what some founders are calling the only way to win right now. What’s your take on grind culture??? Everyone in tech is suddenly talking about 996. Some very smart people I know argue it's the only way to win in the AI race right now. And coming from F1, I totally understand the logic. When I was chasing the World Championship, I was even more extreme than 996. So no, I'm not going to tell founders to work less. That would be dishonest coming from me! But there are a couple of lessons that I had to learn the hard way. Everyone in F1 worked insane hours, but ultimately my edge (and success now in business) has come from the opposite side of the equation. Here’s what I’ve learnt over the years: 👉 Recovery turned out to be my secret weapon (instead of a reward). Things like sleep, nutrition, visualisation and mental training got me the title, not extra hours in the simulator. Tired drivers crash. Just like tired founders make expensive decisions. 👉 Intensity needs an expiry date. My extreme phase had a clear goal and a clear end. Grinding with no finish line isn't sustainable. 👉 Nobody performs scared and exhausted at the same time. Founders remind me so much of F1 drivers. I’ve spoken a ton about this. But what I can empathise with is that they're not allowed to admit they're struggling. If you’re not taking care of your mental health needs… it’s going to catch up to you. I see founders every week through Rosberg Ventures. The best ones are obviously super obsessed, yes. But they also treat their energy like their most important asset, because it is. Where do you stand on 996 and this level of intensity?? I’d love to know your thoughts…
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Nico Rosberg shared thisHow many coffees do you drink a day? Here's something that surprises people: I don't drink any!! (or at least not currently, except for decaf 😅- much to the dismay of my Italian friends). Honestly?! I've never had more energy in my life! People assume caffeine and high performance go together. For me, it was the opposite. Almost every time I tried it, I couldn't sleep at night. And bad sleep is the most expensive trade you can make. Research backs this up. A huge study recently found that coffee, even 6 hours before bed, cuts people's sleep by over an hour. And the scariest part is that most people didn't even notice. They just woke up more tired and reached for more coffee. That's the loop! Here's what I’ve found works well for me in terms of fueling my body and energy levels : 👉 Treat food as fuel, not as a reward. I mainly eat vegetables and drink lots of water. Sometimes dinner is literally just beans and broccoli (not glamorous, I know!). But nutrition is a decisive factor in how focused you are. If your energy crashes every afternoon, look at your lunch before you blame your workload. 👉 To sustain my energy throughout the day, I work in blocks. I like to block out 2 or 3 hour stretches and just work through my tasks. That focus is something I built in my racing career. Give one thing a proper stretch of time and see the difference! 👉 If you do drink coffee, time it. The science says keep it at least 6 hours away from bedtime. That one change could give you back an hour of sleep. Which, funny enough, gives you the energy you were drinking the coffee for! How many cups of coffee are you on per day? And what helps your energy the most? Let me know in the comments...
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Nico Rosberg shared thisEveryone thought I'd lost my mind when I walked away from a career that still had a lot of money on the table. Have you ever had that nagging voice in your head telling you that you've done what you came to do and that it's time to move on?? If you have, then you know how important it is not to ignore it. But a smart move is to test that voice before you actually act on it. For example, ask yourself whether you're running TOWARD something bigger or just AWAY from something hard. The voice worth trusting almost always points you toward a new way to contribute. I read somewhere that over 53% of professionals are thinking about leaving their jobs. But most of them never will. And the reason is almost always the same: fear. I get it. Starting from scratch is terrifying! For years after F1, I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I tried loads of things (some worked and plenty didn't). And there were long stretches where I wondered if I'd ever feel that sense of purpose again. But you don't have to burn everything down on day one! Give yourself a runway. For example, treat each new attempt as an experiment, not a final verdict (psychologically, a "failed" try isn't a failure, it's information). It tells you exactly what you don't want, which gets you one step closer to what you do. And instead of asking "How can I be the best?" ask "How can I bring the most value?" And everything will change. Or at least that was my experience. When I did that, for the first time, I felt a sense of purpose that even winning a World Championship had never given me. So if there's a quiet voice telling you it's time for something new, listen to it. The false starts aren't failure. They're simply the price of starting again. Even if you have to try five wrong things before you land on the right one. What's the one thing you already know you've outgrown, but you're still a little too scared to leave behind? Let me know in the comments… 👇
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Nico Rosberg shared thisNeeding other people's approval almost cost me my entire racing career. And the moment you start chasing approval over your own purpose? It's game over! Seeking approval sneaks up on you. As a girl dad, I try to catch it early. For example, I know when one of my daughters is only trying something because they think it will make me proud, instead of because they truly love it themselves. So I try to gently nudge them toward what lights THEM up, not what impresses me. I do this because, if left unchecked, that same instinct can follow you into adulthood. You take the safe option, you know your boss will like. Or you say yes when you really mean no. And one day you realise you've built your whole life around the question "will they approve of this?" instead of "do I actually want this?" I know this feeling well. But I learnt that if I wanted my success to truly mean something, I had to do it for myself! And that's a lesson I rely on every single day now in the business world. Here are 3 things I've learned about building for the right reasons: 👉 Approval is a great feeling, but it can't sustain you! The people who build to impress an investor, a boss, or a room full of people tend to fade the moment the applause (or approval) stops. The best business people I know are the ones building from their OWN conviction. That internal belief is what keeps them going through the long years when nobody is clapping (and there will for sure be those years!). 👉 The best founders I meet don't need the room to agree with them yet. Think about it this way: if the idea was obvious, then everyone would already be building it. You have to believe it before anyone else can. 👉 The real wins are made on the quiet days when no one is watching. In F1, you feel every small thing you did when nobody was there (things like sleep, the preparation, or the marginal gains). Life is the same. Keep showing up. Keep doing the work, and the progress will eventually compound. Have you ever caught yourself chasing approval instead of doing it for yourself? How did you break out of it? Let me know in the comments...
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Nico Rosberg shared thisMy old boss Toto Wolff once gave me his formula for happiness. He said you need three things: Someone to love. Something to do. Something to dream of. That's it. The love part, I'm very lucky. I've been with my wife Vivian since we were kids, and we have two really amazing daughters together. But the "do" and the "dream"? When I won the World Championship and then retired, those were gone overnight. For 20 years, my entire life was built around one single goal. And when your dream comes true, it doesn't just feel amazing. It also leaves a hole! (and not enough of us talk about this…) So I had to rebuild the other two from scratch. The "do" eventually came from the world I'd already fallen in love with while racing: tech and innovation. I'd made a few angel investments as a driver, and I loved everything about it. Solving real problems, the buzz of competition, the teamwork… planting seeds and watching them grow. It’s always been super satisfying for me. The "dream" part took longer, though. But today it's crystal clear: back the absolute best founders, invest in the generational companies of our time, and keep building Rosberg Ventures. That’s the world championship I'm targeting now! I meet so many successful people who have the "do" but have lost the "dream" somewhere along the way. Like most of us, they're super busy. But they're not pulled forward by anything. And you can feel the difference big time. The good news is, if you’ve lost your dream, here’s what I did that worked to get my mind back on track: 👉Get it out of your head and onto paper. I never keep my goals in my head. I literally write everything down and make it visible. Research also proves that this works!! Apparently, you’re 42% more likely to achieve your goals simply by writing them down. 👉Make your dream a state, instead of a finish line or “ultimate goal”. This was my big mental weakness in sport. I measured everything by victories, and I only learned later that you can't be happy that way. So don't say "I want to hit X by next quarter." Say (like I do) "I back the best founders in the world" and live it every day. The dream should be something you ARE, not something waiting for you at the end. 👉Get in rooms with people who are still dreaming. For me, that means sitting with founders who are building. Nothing rebuilds your own fire faster than being around people chasing something bigger than themselves. Which of the three happiness ingredients do you have covered right now? And which one needs work? Let me know in the comments...
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Nico Rosberg shared thisFor 20 years, I was one thing: a race driver. Then suddenly that career (and my whole identity) was gone! So what happens when who we are suddenly stops, without a plan B?? Change is often super tough and can be scary. But very often in change there is a great opportunity: 👉To grow and progress 👉To be proud of finding and conquering a new challenge 👉To become more than the one thing people knew you for In my case, reinventing myself ended up being truly valuable! I caught up with my ex karting rival Susie Wolff at Cannes Lions with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, and she felt the same way! She also took the discipline and hustle she learnt from racing and gave it a bigger purpose (building opportunities for the next generation as Managing Director of F1 ACADEMY). My own journey now as a venture capitalist has been different, but the challenge in change has been similar. “Nico is just the F1 race driver. Can we take him seriously in business?”… I had to develop my brand from race car driver to venture capitalist. It takes time. Of greatest importance is adding value to the people who I want to get in business with. Add as much value as you can in whatever way might be unique to you. Over time, you will gain credibility, and opportunities will come your way. Have you gone through a big change? Was it good in the end?
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Nico Rosberg shared thisI celebrated my 41st birthday over the weekend. Here are 41 lessons I’ve learned over the years that continue to shape who I am… 1. Preparation creates confidence. 2. The fear doesn’t have to disappear. You just have to keep moving anyway. 3. Never stop pushing!! 4. The best founders (and athletes) train their minds as seriously as their bodies. 5. You can’t control every emotion. But you can control how you react. 6. Repetition becomes belief. Be careful what you repeatedly say about yourself! 7. Mistakes happen. It doesn’t define you, so don’t sweat it! 8. If you always yield, people learn that you will move. 9. You can be kind and still hold your ground. 10. Empathy and high standards can exist together. 11. The best leaders know when to push and when to support. 12. Clear rules prevent emotional arguments later. 13. Take responsibility for your part. 14. The hardest feedback is often the most valuable. 15. Never become so successful that people are afraid to tell you the truth. 16. Your reputation compounds for longer than almost any financial return. 17. You always meet twice in life. Behave accordingly. 18. Access is built through trust, not one impressive meeting. 19. A cold email can change your life. Send it (you’d be shocked how many I send!!). 20. Rejection is part of the process, not proof that you should stop. 21. “No” often means “not yet”. 22. If an opportunity matters, find another route. 23. The best founders combine huge conviction with huge curiosity. 24. Sleep is so important! 25. If an idea were obvious to everyone, somebody would have already built it. 26. Speed matters, but only when you are heading in the right direction. 27. Focus is mostly deciding what not to react to. 28. Being busy and making progress are not the same thing. 29. Block time for the work that needs your full attention. 30. Protect your energy like it’s part of your job. It is. 31. A high-performance life can’t be lived at maximum intensity forever. 32. Consistency beats extreme effort that you cannot sustain. 33. Your health is everything!! 34. Family time is a non-negotiable. 35. Your children do not care how many emails you answered. 36. Reinvention doesn’t mean throwing away your past. 37. Your previous success can open the door, but what you do next keeps it open. 38. Stay close to people who know more than you. 39. The moment you need to look clever is often the moment you stop learning. 40. Winning is still important to me. But I am much more careful about defining what winning means. 41. You do not need one perfect life plan. You need the courage to keep adapting. My biggest goal for 41 is to stay fully focused on building Rosberg Ventures. To stay curious. To protect my health. To be the best father and husband. And to win the VC World Championship, of course! 😅 What is one lesson life has taught you recently?
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Interfaces for robots shouldn't be an afterthought to capabilities- they’re crucial. Excited to be a part of Enigma’s journey for intelligent robots - congrats guys! This is epic.
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Nico Rosberg liked thisNico Rosberg liked thisAugustus has raised 180M$ on 1B$ to build the Global Dollar Bank. Monumental times. Journey is only beginning. If you want to be part of the chapter ahead. I am hiring across commercial: - Founding Account Manager (NYC) - Growth Associates (Berlin) - And more roles... Links in Description. Special thanks to Ferdinand Dabitz, Joshua Becker, Peter Mosebjane Lieck, and Simon Wimmer
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Nico Rosberg liked thisNico Rosberg liked thisLast week on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, minutes after the closing bell. I joined Sam Vadas and Marley Kayden on Schwab Network's Market on Close to talk about how money actually settles between institutions, and why that layer is being rebuilt right now. Twenty years in payments and the problem has never been clearer. Everyone is launching a new settlement network. Almost nobody is building the layer that connects them. That is why we started FRAME. Four things I said on air, and believe: - Banks are not going to rip out the systems they already run, and nobody should ask them to. We connect through an API, layer on top without disrupting anything, and give them cryptographic proof that settlement actually happened. - Compliance belongs inside the transaction. We do not allow a settlement to happen unless the compliance is there. That was a first principle on day one, not a feature we added when the regulation arrived. - When a digital asset moves, the money should move with it, at the same time. Today settlement lands afterwards, and that gap is pure risk. - Where this ends up is cheaper, faster and more secure, one transaction at a time. It takes repetition, and it takes a serious custodial institution standing behind it before a business believes it is safe to move money this way. That happens over years. It is already happening. Thank you to Sam Vadas and the Schwab Network team for the invitation and a genuinely good conversation. Full interview will be posted shortly.
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Nico Rosberg liked thisNico Rosberg liked this🌟 TeamFirst X Nico Rosberg 🌟 🏎 TeamFirst × ニコ・ロズベルグ 🏎 I am not even surprised anymore by the network and community #TeamFirst has anymore! 😅 Couple weeks ago, we had a special visit by the Viktor Axelson a two-time Olympic Champion, two-time World Champion, and four-time European Champion. 🏎 This week got a special visit by Nico Rosberg! 🏎 (Nico Rosberg is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver who won the #FormulaOne World Drivers' Championship in 2016 while driving for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas tea) 😱😱😱 ニコ・ロズベルグは、ドイツとフィンランドの国籍を持つ元プロF1レーサーで、メルセデスAMGペトロナスチームに所属し、2016年にF1世界ドライバーズチャンピオンを獲得しました。 For those who don't know him: 🔸 1 Formula 1 World Championship (2016) 🔸 23 Grand Prix victories 🔸 30 pole positions 🔸 57 podium finishes 🔸 Played a key role in establishing Mercedes as F1's dominant team during the hybrid era. Though retired still very active as: 🔹 Formula 1 TV pundit and analyst. 🔹 Founder of Rosberg Ventures, investing in technology, AI, sustainability, and mobility startups. 🔹 Active YouTuber, speaker, and advocate for electric mobility and clean technology. Really appreciate him dropping by and visiting the #TeamFirst team and hope he enjoys the rest of his time in #Japan! TeamFirst never continues to surprise me in the networks we have and connections we have built. As expected of the huge network our CEO Peter Sayn-Wittgenstein has built up. If you still don't know us or haven't followed us, you are missing a lot! #Tokyo #Japan #greatexperience #Linkedin #F1
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Nico Rosberg liked thisNico Rosberg liked thisAs a swimmer and triathlete, I learned early on that growth rarely happens in comfortable water. The moments that shape us most are often the ones when we take a deep breath and dive into something new. Today feels a little like that. After more than three incredible years at Mercedes-Benz AG ⭐, it is time for me to leave the poolside, dive into new waters, and start a new chapter. When I joined Mercedes-Benz AG in 2023, we embarked on an ambitious journey together: transforming IT into a true driver of business value, innovation, and competitive advantage. We started with transparency, took a hard look at complexity, challenged the status quo, and laid the foundation for simplification, standardization, and stronger governance. Looking back, I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together. We simplified our technology landscape by reducing the number of enterprise applications by more than a third 📊, reduced incident recovery times by almost 50% ⏱️, increased AI adoption to more than 60% 🤖, rolled out Microsoft Copilot to all white-collar employees, introduced more than 1,700 AI use cases 🚀 across the company, established the MB Digitalization Board and Enterprise Architecture governance, and strengthened our digital capabilities through continuous learning and development. These achievements are visible, measurable, and impactful. And yet, they represent only a fraction of everything this team has accomplished. If I tried to capture every milestone, success story, and innovation from the past years, this post would never end. What makes me most proud is not what we achieved, but how we achieved it. Together, we built a culture based on the principles that have guided me throughout my career: Transparency 🔍, Trust 🤝, and Teamwork 👥. Together, we proved that technology transformation is ultimately about people — people who embrace change, challenge conventions, support one another, and keep moving forward even when the path is not always clear. I leave with great confidence in what lies ahead for Mercedes-Benz. On a personal note, many know that before my business career, sport taught me some of life's most important lessons. As a swimmer and triathlete, I learned that growth rarely happens in comfortable water. The most rewarding opportunities often begin with a leap into the unknown. I leave with immense gratitude 🙏 to everyone who has been part of this journey. To my Leadership Team, my CIO Backoffice, my business partners and counterparts across Mercedes-Benz, and to the entire Enterprise Tech Team — thank you for your trust 🤝, support 💪, and belief 🌟 in what we could achieve together. None of this would have been possible without you. It has been one of the greatest privileges of my career to work alongside you. The journey continues.
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Nico Rosberg liked thisNico Rosberg liked thisEnigma , an AI robotics research lab emerging from stealth, has raised $71M in seed funding led by Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital, with participation from @Sarah Guo conviction partners of CONVICTION PARTNERS. Founded by Jonathan Jacobi and Gal Niv, Enigma is developing intuitive ways for humans to interact with robots by studying real-world human-machine communication. The company is launching a large-scale experiment allowing people worldwide to interact with more than 100 proprietary AI robots as it seeks to create a robotics interface as simple and natural as adjusting a volume knob. FOUNDERS: Jonathan Jacobi & Gal Niv INVESTORS: Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital & Sarah Guo ROUND: Seed AMOUNT: $71,000,000 HQ: San Francisco, California #VentureCapital #Enigma #JonathanJacobi #GalNiv #TradedVC
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