Epoona
Epoona is a Vienna-based climate and industrial-tech venture capital (VC) firm, and one of its six core verticals is water. Founded in 2021 by former industry managers, it backs small and mid-sized European companies through growth, scale-up, and business-succession deals. As of 2026 it has backed two water companies, both at the seed stage.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Epoona is an Austrian investor that files water under industry, not the other way round. Water sits as one of six verticals on its scorecard, next to energy, agtech, special machinery and robotics, recycling, and green building, which is why a Vienna firm few people would shelve under water keeps turning up on water deals.
Epoona was founded in 2021 by a group of former industry managers, not career financiers, and that shows in how it invests. It buys into small and mid-sized European technology companies and rolls up its sleeves, taking operational and board roles rather than writing a cheque and waiting. A big part of its pipeline is business succession: family-owned industrial firms whose founders are retiring without an obvious heir.
On the water side, Epoona has led seed rounds into two Austrian companies, and the pattern is hardware, not software. Both bets are physical water machines. Imhotep Industries builds PHANTOR, a mobile generator that condenses drinking water straight out of the air, and BlueActivity doses live probiotic cultures into industrial cooling-tower loops to keep them clean. Both are the kind of engineering an industrial team can actually judge.
Epoona runs a deliberately heavyweight bench for its size, including Martin Lehner, the former chief executive of construction-equipment maker Wacker Neuson, as a partner and advisory-board chair. The open question is whether water stays a real vertical or fades to a polite line on the deck as succession deals in heavier industries compete for the same partners' time. For now, two seed cheques and a named water vertical are more than most generalist climate funds bother with.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 2 water companies
Frequently asked
- What does Epoona invest in?
- Epoona invests in small and mid-sized European technology companies across six verticals: water, energy, agtech, special machinery and robotics, recycling, and green building. It backs them at the seed stage and through growth, scale-up, and business-succession deals, acting as a long-term operational partner rather than a passive financier.
- Is Epoona a water fund?
- Epoona is a broad climate and industrial-tech venture firm, not a water-only fund. Water is one of six sectors it backs, and within that slice it has led seed rounds into two Austrian water companies: Imhotep Industries, which builds atmospheric water generators, and BlueActivity, which treats industrial cooling water.
- Who runs Epoona?
- Epoona was founded in 2021 and is led by managing partners Lothar Stadler, who runs sales and global partnerships, and Werner Töpfl, who handles finance and operations. The partner bench also includes Bernhard Maier on innovation and R&D, plus Martin Lehner, the former chief executive of Wacker Neuson.
- Where is Epoona based?
- Epoona is based in Vienna, Austria, and focuses on the German-speaking region of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Founded in 2021 by former industry managers, it invests across Europe in climate and industrial technology, including two Austrian water companies it has backed at the seed stage.