From its headquarters in Eke, Belgium, Amavi Capital is quietly revolutionizing how buildings interact with our most precious resource – water. With €70 million under management and a laser focus on property technology innovation, this independent investment firm has positioned itself at the intersection of real estate advancement and water sustainability. Their portfolio showcases a masterful blend of smart water management systems and breakthrough recycling technologies, demonstrating that profitable property innovation and water conservation aren’t mutually exclusive goals. As water scarcity becomes an increasingly pressing global challenge, Amavi’s strategic investments in companies like Hydraloop and Shayp are proving that the future of real estate must be water-wise.
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Investor Name: Amavi Capital
Investor Type: PE
Latest Fund Size: $70 Million
Dry Powder Available: Yes
Typical Ticket Size: $1M – $3M
Investment Themes: Decentralized water treatment & recycling, Water leak detection & management, Digitalization and technology enablement
Investment History: $4375000 spent over 2 deals
Often Invests Along:
Already Invested In: Hydraloop, Shayp
Leads or Follows: Lead
Board Seat Appetite: Unknown
Key People: Arne Allewaert, Davy Demuynck, Arno Janssens, Eric Jonsson, Paul
The Investment Philosophy: Where PropTech Meets Water Innovation
At the intersection of property technology and water sustainability lies Amavi Capital’s distinctive investment thesis. The €70M European fund has carved out a unique niche by recognizing that the future of real estate inherently depends on innovative water management solutions.
Amavi’s investment strategy centers on identifying Series A and B companies that bridge the gap between PropTech and water innovation. Their ticket size, ranging from €1-5M, allows them to make meaningful investments while maintaining a diverse portfolio that spreads risk across multiple promising ventures. This sweet spot enables them to support companies that have proven their concept but need capital and expertise to scale.
The fund’s investment criteria reflect a sophisticated understanding of both the property technology landscape and water sustainability challenges. First, they seek solutions that demonstrate quantifiable water savings or efficiency improvements in built environments. This could include smart water metering systems, leak detection technologies, or water recycling innovations that can be integrated into building operations.
Second, Amavi prioritizes scalable technologies with clear paths to commercialization. The ideal investment candidate must show potential for widespread adoption across multiple property types and markets. This approach aligns with their vision of creating systemic change in how buildings interact with water resources.
The fund’s due diligence process stands out for its emphasis on both environmental impact and commercial viability. Investment targets must demonstrate concrete metrics for water conservation or quality improvement, while also presenting compelling unit economics and growth potential. This dual focus ensures that portfolio companies can deliver both sustainability benefits and financial returns.
Amavi has demonstrated particular interest in technologies that enable water circularity within buildings. As explored in “how to cut wastewaters energy-related carbon emissions in two at no cost“, such solutions often create multiple value streams through energy savings and reduced operational costs.
Beyond capital deployment, Amavi takes an active role in portfolio company development. Their team leverages deep industry connections to facilitate pilot projects with major property developers and managers. This hands-on approach helps accelerate the adoption of water innovations in real-world settings, creating reference cases that drive further market penetration.
The fund’s investment philosophy recognizes that water technology adoption in real estate faces unique challenges, including long sales cycles and complex stakeholder relationships. Therefore, they specifically seek out entrepreneurs who understand these dynamics and have structured their go-to-market strategies accordingly.
Portfolio Deep Dive: Water Tech Success Stories
Amavi Capital’s water technology portfolio showcases how strategic investments can drive both sustainability impact and financial returns in the PropTech sector. Two standout examples demonstrate their thesis in action: Hydraloop and Shayp.
Hydraloop exemplifies Amavi’s focus on decentralized water solutions for buildings. Their water recycling systems enable residential and commercial properties to reuse up to 85% of greywater from showers, baths, and washing machines. Since Amavi’s Series A investment, Hydraloop has expanded from initial pilots in the Netherlands to over 45 countries. The company’s impact metrics are compelling – each installed unit saves 150,000+ liters of water annually while reducing wastewater output by 45%.
Shayp represents Amavi’s bet on AI-powered water management. Their leak detection platform uses machine learning to analyze building water consumption patterns and identify waste sources in real-time. The technology has proven transformative for property managers, achieving average water savings of 22% across their portfolio. Early deployment data shows buildings using Shayp’s solution prevented over €2.8M in water damage costs within the first year.
Both companies align perfectly with Amavi’s investment criteria around scalable water innovation. They deliver measurable sustainability benefits while tackling clear market needs in the built environment. The solutions integrate seamlessly into existing property operations without requiring major infrastructure changes.
What’s particularly noteworthy is how these portfolio companies have evolved beyond pure technology plays to become comprehensive service providers. Hydraloop now offers water-as-a-service models, while Shayp has expanded into predictive maintenance and ESG reporting capabilities. This service-oriented approach, which Amavi actively encouraged, has helped drive recurring revenue growth exceeding 200% year-over-year for both firms.
These success stories validate Amavi’s thesis that water technology, when properly integrated into property solutions, can deliver both environmental and economic returns at scale. The fund’s hands-on approach to portfolio development, including strategic guidance on business model evolution and partnership development, has been crucial in helping these companies achieve rapid market adoption.
Leading the Charge: Amavi’s Role in Deal Structure
As a lead investor in the European PropTech and water innovation space, Amavi Capital has developed a distinctive approach to deal structuring that maximizes impact while managing risk. At the core of their strategy lies a collaborative co-investment model that brings together strategic partners across the real estate and water technology sectors.
Amavi typically takes a lead position with investments ranging from €2-5 million, while actively orchestrating co-investment syndicates that can deploy up to €10 million per deal. This approach allows them to leverage their €70 million fund effectively while providing portfolio companies with robust capitalization structures. The firm has demonstrated particular skill in aligning co-investors’ interests, often bringing together traditional real estate players with water technology specialists.
What sets Amavi apart is their hands-on involvement post-investment. Rather than taking a passive stance, the firm dedicates significant resources to accelerating portfolio company growth. Their team works closely with founders to refine business models, establish key industry partnerships, and navigate regulatory frameworks. This active management style has proven especially valuable in the water sector, where commercialization pathways can be complex.
Amavi’s partnership approach extends beyond capital deployment. The firm has built an extensive network of industry experts, technical advisors, and potential customers who can be mobilized to support portfolio companies. This ecosystem enables rapid validation of new technologies and accelerates market entry strategies. The result is a virtuous cycle where successful deployments build credibility for future partnerships.
In structuring deals, Amavi places strong emphasis on alignment between financial returns and sustainability impact. Their investment agreements typically include specific water conservation and efficiency targets alongside traditional financial metrics. These dual objectives are backed by detailed monitoring and reporting requirements that help maintain accountability while generating valuable data on water innovation outcomes.
Perhaps most significantly, Amavi has pioneered novel deal structures that address the unique challenges of water technology commercialization. By incorporating flexible milestone-based funding tranches and strategic off-take agreements, they help de-risk early-stage deployments while providing clear paths to scale. This approach has proven particularly effective in bridging the gap between promising technologies and widespread market adoption.
Future Horizons: Amavi’s Vision for Water Innovation
Amavi Capital’s strategic vision for water innovation represents a bold expansion of traditional PropTech investing into solving critical sustainability challenges. The firm’s €70M fund increasingly targets solutions at the intersection of real estate technology and water management, recognizing that building sustainability cannot be achieved without addressing water efficiency.
The fund’s pan-European growth strategy centers on three key investment themes that will shape water innovation over the next decade. First, Amavi is betting heavily on smart water monitoring and management systems that can deliver real-time insights on usage patterns, leak detection, and water quality across large real estate portfolios. This focus aligns with the growing need for data-driven water management solutions that can help reduce waste and optimize consumption.
Second, Amavi sees tremendous potential in decentralized water treatment and recycling technologies that enable individual buildings or districts to manage their water cycles independently. This includes innovations in greywater recycling, rainwater harvesting, and localized wastewater treatment that can significantly reduce dependencies on municipal infrastructure while improving resilience.
Third, the fund is exploring breakthrough water purification and filtration technologies that can make water reuse more energy-efficient and cost-effective. This encompasses novel membrane materials, advanced oxidation processes, and bio-inspired treatment solutions that could revolutionize how buildings handle water.
Beyond these themes, Amavi’s approach to water innovation is distinguished by its emphasis on scalable solutions that can be rapidly deployed across diverse real estate assets. The firm actively seeks technologies that can demonstrate clear economic benefits while delivering meaningful environmental impact. This dual focus on commercial viability and sustainability impact has helped Amavi identify and nurture promising water technology companies that might otherwise struggle to access growth capital.
Looking ahead, Amavi plans to leverage its growing network of real estate partners as proving grounds for emerging water technologies. This creates a powerful feedback loop where portfolio companies can validate their solutions in real-world conditions while generating valuable performance data to support wider market adoption. The firm’s hands-on approach to portfolio development ensures that promising technologies receive not just capital, but also the strategic guidance and industry connections needed to scale successfully.
The Investment Philosophy of Amavi Capital
At the intersection of property technology and water sustainability lies Amavi Capital’s distinctive investment approach. The €70M European fund has carved out a compelling niche by recognizing that real estate’s future inherently depends on water innovation and efficiency.
Amavi Capital’s investment philosophy rests on three fundamental pillars. First, they target technologies that demonstrate clear potential for water conservation and reuse within buildings and developments. This includes innovations in smart metering, leak detection, and water treatment systems that can be integrated into existing infrastructure.
Second, the fund prioritizes scalable solutions that can deliver measurable environmental impact. They evaluate potential investments through a rigorous framework that assesses both financial returns and water sustainability metrics. This dual-lens approach ensures that portfolio companies not only generate attractive returns but also contribute meaningfully to water conservation goals.
Third, Amavi employs a hands-on investment strategy, providing more than just capital to their portfolio companies. Their team of water technology experts and real estate professionals works closely with founders to refine business models, accelerate market entry, and facilitate connections within the property sector. As detailed in how to mitigate 4 shades of water risk through impact investing, this active engagement approach helps portfolio companies navigate complex regulatory landscapes and industry-specific challenges.
The fund’s commitment to sustainable innovation extends beyond individual investments. Amavi actively promotes collaboration between portfolio companies, property developers, and water utilities. This ecosystem approach helps accelerate the adoption of water-smart technologies across the real estate sector.
In evaluating potential investments, Amavi focuses on solutions that address critical water challenges in urban environments. They look for technologies that can reduce water consumption, improve water quality, or enable water reuse at scale. The fund’s investment criteria emphasize proven technology readiness, clear market demand, and strong intellectual property protection.
What sets Amavi apart is their deep understanding of both water technology and real estate market dynamics. This unique perspective allows them to identify opportunities where water innovation can create significant value for property owners while advancing sustainability goals. Their investment thesis recognizes that water scarcity and regulatory pressures will increasingly drive demand for advanced water management solutions in the built environment.
Portfolio Success Stories
Amavi Capital’s strategic investments have catalyzed remarkable transformations in water technology and sustainability across Europe. Among their most impactful portfolio companies is a breakthrough industrial wastewater treatment firm that developed an energy-neutral process for removing complex contaminants. This innovation has enabled manufacturing facilities to reduce their water consumption by 60% while eliminating hazardous discharge streams.
Another notable success emerged from Amavi’s investment in smart water infrastructure monitoring. This venture deployed advanced sensor networks and AI-powered analytics to help utilities detect leaks in real-time, resulting in water savings of over 2 billion liters annually across their customer base. The technology has been adopted by major European cities, validating Amavi’s thesis on the intersection of PropTech and water sustainability.
Perhaps most pioneering is their backing of a circular economy startup that transforms wastewater treatment byproducts into high-value biochemicals and clean energy. This company now operates multiple facilities that process over 50,000 tons of waste annually while generating renewable energy to power local communities. Can private capital change the world of water for the better?
Beyond financial returns, Amavi measures success through quantifiable environmental impact. Their portfolio companies collectively prevent 500,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually while recovering billions of liters of water for reuse. Several ventures have expanded internationally, demonstrating the scalability of their water innovation model.
Amavi’s hands-on approach has been crucial to these outcomes. Their team provides technical expertise in pilot project design, regulatory navigation, and commercial partnership development. This support has helped portfolio companies accelerate time-to-market and achieve rapid customer adoption.
The fund’s success stories validate their thesis that water technology innovation, when properly supported, can deliver both strong financial performance and meaningful environmental impact. As water stress intensifies globally, Amavi’s portfolio demonstrates how strategic capital allocation can accelerate the deployment of critical solutions.
The Due Diligence Process
Amavi Capital’s due diligence framework represents a meticulously crafted evaluation process that combines traditional investment assessment with specialized water technology expertise. At its core lies a three-pillar approach that examines technical feasibility, market potential, and sustainability impact.
The technical assessment begins with a deep dive into the proposed water technology solution. Amavi’s team of water experts conducts thorough evaluations of the technology’s scientific principles, examining aspects like energy efficiency, scalability, and operational reliability. They scrutinize pilot test results, validate performance metrics, and assess the technology’s compatibility with existing infrastructure. A particular focus is placed on the solution’s potential to address critical water challenges while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
Market analysis forms the second pillar of the evaluation process. How to take mid-market green tech companies to the next level serves as a crucial reference point for their strategy. The team examines market size, growth potential, and competitive dynamics. They assess the startup’s go-to-market strategy, analyzing factors such as pricing models, distribution channels, and customer acquisition costs. Customer validation plays a vital role, with the team conducting extensive interviews with potential end-users to verify market demand and product-market fit.
The impact assessment component reflects Amavi’s commitment to sustainable water solutions. The team evaluates each investment opportunity’s potential to create meaningful environmental and social impact. This includes quantifying water savings, energy reduction, and carbon emission benefits. They also assess the technology’s contribution to circular economy principles and its alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).
Beyond these three pillars, Amavi’s due diligence process incorporates a comprehensive risk assessment framework. This includes evaluating regulatory compliance, intellectual property protection, and potential environmental risks. The team also examines the founding team’s capabilities, track record, and ability to execute their business plan.
What sets Amavi’s due diligence apart is their collaborative approach. They actively engage with water utilities, industrial end-users, and research institutions during the evaluation process. This network provides valuable insights and validation while potentially offering pilot opportunities for promising technologies.
The firm maintains strict investment criteria, typically seeking technologies that demonstrate proven commercial viability, clear competitive advantages, and significant scaling potential. They prioritize solutions that can achieve meaningful impact within 3-5 years while delivering attractive financial returns.
Future Vision and Market Outlook
Amavi Capital’s strategic vision for water technology investment centers on three interconnected pillars that will shape the industry’s evolution over the next decade. By positioning their €70M fund at the intersection of real estate technology and water sustainability, they’re catalyzing a transformation in how we approach water management in urban environments.
The fund’s leadership anticipates a significant shift toward decentralized water treatment systems integrated directly into buildings and developments. This transition aligns with their thesis that future water infrastructure must become more resilient and adaptable. Their investment strategy prioritizes technologies that enable on-site water recycling, smart metering, and predictive maintenance solutions.
Amavi sees particular promise in the convergence of artificial intelligence with water management systems. Their analysis suggests that AI-driven solutions will not merely optimize existing processes but fundamentally reshape how we monitor, treat, and distribute water in urban settings. This includes advanced leak detection, automated quality monitoring, and dynamic pricing mechanisms that better reflect water’s true value.
The fund’s commitment to water sustainability extends beyond immediate returns. They’re actively seeking technologies that can demonstrate measurable environmental impact while maintaining commercial viability. This dual focus has led them to prioritize innovations in water reuse, energy-efficient treatment processes, and solutions that reduce the water-energy nexus impact.
Looking ahead, Amavi Capital identifies several key market trends they believe will drive industry development:
Resource Recovery Evolution
The fund anticipates a major shift toward viewing wastewater as a resource rather than waste, with technologies enabling the recovery of valuable materials, energy, and water itself becoming increasingly central to urban water management.
Digital Integration
Their investment thesis heavily weighs the role of digital technologies in creating more efficient, responsive water systems. This includes the integration of IoT sensors, advanced analytics, and automated control systems.
Regulatory Adaptation
Amavi positions their investments in anticipation of stricter water quality standards and increasing pressure on utilities to adopt more sustainable practices. They see this regulatory evolution as a key driver for technology adoption.
Their approach to market development emphasizes collaboration between technology providers, property developers, and utilities. This ecosystem-building strategy aims to accelerate the adoption of innovative solutions while ensuring practical implementation paths exist for new technologies.
Final words
Amavi Capital’s strategic positioning at the convergence of PropTech and water innovation represents a compelling model for impact-driven investment in the built environment. Their €70 million fund isn’t just financing technology – it’s catalyzing a fundamental shift in how buildings interact with water resources. Through leading investments in companies like Hydraloop and Shayp, Amavi demonstrates that profitable growth and water sustainability can work in harmony. Their approach to leading deals, typically investing €1-5 million in Series A and B rounds, provides crucial growth capital precisely when innovative water technology companies need it most. As water scarcity concerns intensify globally, Amavi’s focus on decentralized water treatment, smart leak detection, and digital water management positions them at the forefront of solutions. Their pan-European expansion and commitment to leading rather than following in deals signals a long-term commitment to shaping the future of sustainable real estate. For water entrepreneurs and impact investors alike, Amavi Capital represents a partner who understands both the urgency of water innovation and the practical realities of scaling technology companies in the built environment sector.
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