360 Capital
360 Capital is a Franco-Italian venture capital firm that backs early-stage deeptech and climate startups, including a focused set of water companies. Based in Paris and Milan and managing more than 700 million euros, it is a generalist European investor, not a water specialist, and it has led every one of its four water deals as of 2026.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
360 Capital is not a water fund, which is the single most useful thing to know before reading its water deals. It is a Franco-Italian generalist running out of Paris and Milan, founded back in 1997, that backs early-stage deeptech and climate-tech founders across Europe from pre-seed (a startup's first outside money) through Series B, with more than 700 million euros under management and over 75 companies in its book. Water is one thread inside a much larger climate and industrial-tech story.
When 360 Capital does move on water, the pattern is consistent: hard, industrial, European deeptech, not apps or utility billing software. Its water names live at the unglamorous end of the problem: Oxyle's catalytic reactors that break down the forever chemicals other systems cannot, Newlisi's biological treatment of sewage sludge, Pallon's computer vision that reads CCTV footage of sewer pipes, and Circular Materials' supercritical-water process for pulling metals back out of industrial waste. To my eye the telling detail is that 360 Capital led all four rounds rather than following someone else in, which from a generalist fund is a real vote of conviction.
The water work sits inside a deliberate climate push, and that is where the fund is moving now. 360 Capital held a first close of 140 million euros on its 360 LIFE II climate fund in December 2024, and in March 2026 it closed 85 million euros toward a 100 million target for Poli360 2, a deeptech fund seeded from Italian university spinouts. Partner Thomas Nivard, who led the Oxyle round, is the face of the water bets. The read I would give a newcomer is plain: 360 Capital treats water as one more industrial category worth modernising, backed with a lead cheque, not a mission it wears on its sleeve.
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 · 4 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does 360 Capital invest in?
- 360 Capital is an early-stage European venture capital firm based in Paris and Milan. It backs deeptech and climate-tech founders from pre-seed to Series B across robotics, energy, new materials and digital, managing more than 700 million euros. Water sits inside that climate mandate as a focused set of industrial bets.
- What water companies has 360 Capital backed?
- 360 Capital has backed four water companies, and it led every one of those rounds: Oxyle, which destroys forever chemicals with catalytic reactors; Newlisi, a sewage-sludge treatment specialist; Pallon, whose AI reads CCTV footage of sewer pipes; and Circular Materials, which recovers metals from industrial waste using supercritical water.
- Who leads water investing at 360 Capital?
- 360 Capital was founded in 1997 by Fausto Boni, its Founder and General Partner. Its water and climate deals are led by Partner Thomas Nivard, who led the firm's investment in Oxyle, alongside partners including Alexandre Mordacq, Alessandro Zaccaria and Cesare Maifredi on the broader deeptech and climate funds.
- Is 360 Capital a water-focused fund?
- No. 360 Capital is a generalist early-stage deeptech and climate-tech investor, not a water specialist. Water is one thread inside a portfolio of more than 75 companies spanning robotics, energy, semiconductors and the circular economy. Its four water investments reflect a broader climate thesis, not a dedicated water fund.
- Where is 360 Capital based?
- 360 Capital is headquartered in Paris, on Boulevard Haussmann, with a second office in Milan, and it invests across Europe. That Franco-Italian footprint shapes its portfolio, which leans toward European deeptech founders, including the Swiss and Italian water companies it has backed.