Aquiti
Aquiti is a Bordeaux-based regional private equity and venture capital firm for Nouvelle-Aquitaine, not a water fund. Water shows up in just two of its bets, Aquassay and Elicit Plant. As of 2025 Aquiti deployed roughly 25 million euros a year backing startups and SMEs across the region, and (don't) Waste Water rates its water commitment Committed.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Aquiti Gestion launched a new seed fund, Aquiti Venture Amorcage, that reached a first close of 30 million euros in October 2024 toward a 60 million euro target, with more than 70% of it earmarked for climate and health startups. That climate tilt is the closest Aquiti comes to anything like a water mandate, and it explains how a regional generalist that has backed companies in every sector since 1998 keeps bumping into the occasional water founder.
Aquiti is a regional development-capital firm, the kind of fund that exists to keep money and jobs inside one French region rather than to chase a single sector. From Bordeaux it writes cheques across the whole capital-investment ladder: zero-interest honour loans (prets d'honneur, essentially personal loans to a founder with no equity taken) at the very start, venture capital for innovative startups, then growth and buyout capital for established SMEs. Water is something Aquiti has backed twice, not a category it set out to chase.
Aquiti's two water names both sit where water meets a bigger regional story. Aquassay builds cloud software that plugs into industrial and municipal water meters to cut how much water a site wastes, while Elicit Plant is an agri-biotech whose phytosterol-based biostimulants help crops survive on less water. Both are Nouvelle-Aquitaine companies first and water companies second, which is exactly how a regional fund ends up with a water line on its books.
Aquiti almost never leads its rounds, which is the normal role for a regional fund that syndicates alongside bigger national players: across its book the recurring co-investors are Sofinnova Partners, Bpifrance and the Caisse des Depots. The thing I would watch is that new climate-and-health seed fund, because a third water company will most likely arrive the day a Nouvelle-Aquitaine founder building something water-related happens to fit the same regional, climate-leaning pattern that drew Aquiti to Aquassay and Elicit Plant.
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
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Aquiti invest in?
- Aquiti finances startups and SMEs across Nouvelle-Aquitaine at every stage, from zero-interest honour loans and venture capital through to growth and buyout capital. It is a regional generalist, not a water fund: only 2 of its portfolio companies are water-related, which is why (don't) Waste Water rates its water commitment Committed.
- Is Aquiti a water fund?
- Aquiti is not a water fund. It is a regional private equity and venture capital firm for Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and water shows up in just two bets, Aquassay and Elicit Plant. Its water exposure is incidental to a portfolio spread across most sectors of the regional economy.
- Who runs Aquiti?
- Aquiti is chaired by CEO Bérenger Delmas, with Jean-François Cochy, a former Cathay Innovation investor, leading its venture capital arm and its new climate-focused seed fund. Thomas Bernard heads the private equity side. The team of around 28 people is based in Bordeaux.
- Where is Aquiti based?
- Aquiti, full name Aquiti Gestion, is based in Bordeaux and invests almost entirely within Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the large region of southwest France. Founded in 1998, it manages around 300 million dollars and exists to keep capital and jobs inside the region rather than chase one sector.
- What water companies has Aquiti backed?
- Aquiti has backed 2 water companies: Aquassay, whose cloud software helps industrial and municipal sites cut water waste, and Elicit Plant, an agri-biotech whose biostimulants help crops grow on less water. Both are Nouvelle-Aquitaine companies, backed as much for being regional as for being water plays.