The global orientation of the Bosch Group is almost as old as the Bosch company itself. The first international Bosch branches were set up at the end of the 19th century, and work on the construction of a Bosch factory in the United States began in 1909. Today, Bosch is active on every continent and has subsidiaries and associated companies in more than 60 countries.

Bosch has been one of Germany's largest industrial foundations since June 1964, when the heirs of Robert Bosch transferred control of the majority of their shareholdings to the Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, which is exclusively engaged in non-profit activities.

Today, the foundation holds a 92 percent stake in the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH. The share dividend received by the foundation is also used exclusively for charitable purposes, i.e. to support general medical care, international understanding, social work, training and education.