Almi Invest
Almi Invest is Sweden's state-owned venture capital firm and one of the country's most active startup investors. Almi Invest backs early-stage companies across Sweden through regional funds and a national GreenTech fund, where its water bets sit. As of June 2026 it has backed 5 water companies across 7 deals, rated Anchor by (don't) Waste Water.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Almi Invest is not a normal venture fund. It is the investment arm of Almi, a group owned by the Swedish state and the regions, set up in 2009 to put public money into young companies where private capital is still too cautious to go first. Almi Invest spreads that money across a string of regional funds plus one national GreenTech fund, and it is inside GreenTech that almost every water company on this page actually lives.
Almi Invest GreenTech is the part that matters for water. Launched in 2017, the GreenTech practice now manages around SEK 1.2 billion across two funds, the newer being the Climate Fund, opened in 2024 with roughly SEK 600 million to back climate and sustainability startups. As of June 2026 it has invested in close to 40 companies, and the water names sit quietly inside that wider green mandate rather than in a fund of their own.
Almi Invest's water bets follow one clear pattern: small, Swedish, hardware that does something measurable to water. The portfolio runs from Altered's atomising tap nozzles that cut household water use, through Aqua Robur's self-powered sensors for spotting leaks in pipe networks, to Stockholm Water Technology's modular treatment units and Mimbly's microfibre filter for commercial laundries. These are Seed and early Series A companies, the first institutional cheque rather than the growth round, and Almi Invest leads a little under half of the rounds it joins.
Almi Invest matters to a Swedish water founder for a plain reason: it is often the investor willing to write the first real cheque, with patient public money behind it and a regional network to plug into. For a sensor startup or a treatment-rig company that private funds find too early and too hardware-heavy, Almi Invest is frequently the anchor that lets the first round actually close, and the GreenTech fund's fresh capital means it can keep doing exactly that.
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 · 5 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Almi Invest invest in?
- Almi Invest invests in early-stage Swedish startups across most sectors, from software to deeptech, mainly at Seed and early Series A. Its climate and water bets run through the national Almi Invest GreenTech fund. As of June 2026 it has backed 5 water companies across 7 deals, spanning water sensors, treatment units and water-saving hardware.
- Who runs Almi Invest?
- Almi Invest is led by CEO Joachim Karlsson, in post since 2021. Its climate and water-relevant investing runs through the GreenTech fund, headed by CEO and fund manager Jörgen Bodin. Almi Invest fields investment teams across several regional funds and one national GreenTech fund, around 85 people in total.
- What stage and check size does Almi Invest invest at?
- Almi Invest invests mainly at Seed and early Series A, the first institutional funding rounds a startup raises. Across its water portfolio the typical cheque runs roughly 1 to 3 million dollars, and Almi Invest acts as lead investor, setting the round, in a little under half of the deals it joins. It can also follow on later.
- Where is Almi Invest based?
- Almi Invest is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and was founded in 2009. It invests all over the country through regional funds based in cities including Uppsala, Karlstad and Gävle, plus one national GreenTech fund. Its water portfolio is made up entirely of Sweden-based companies.
- Is Almi Invest a government fund or a private VC?
- Almi Invest is a venture capital company inside the state-owned Almi group, part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and Swedish regions, so it invests public money on commercial terms. It is separate from Almi's better-known grants and loans: Almi Invest takes equity stakes, usually alongside private co-investors such as Chalmers Ventures and GU Ventures.