CIC
CIC (Credit Industriel et Commercial) is a French commercial bank, founded in 1859 and owned by the Credit Mutuel group, whose private-equity and regional arms co-invest in startups beside other French institutions. CIC is no water specialist, but as of 2026 it has backed 2 water companies across 2 deals.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
CIC is one of France's oldest banks, founded in 1859 and now part of the Credit Mutuel group, which makes it a strange entry in a water-investor directory. CIC is not a water fund, and it is not a venture firm. It surfaces in the water data because its private-equity and regional banking arms write cheques into nearby companies, and two of those companies happen to work on water.
CIC's two water names are both French and both early-stage. Purecontrol builds an AI platform that trims water and energy use in treatment plants and buildings by reading their control-system data; Luniwave makes hotel hardware that cuts the water and energy a shower burns. The common thread is geography, not a water thesis: a regional French bank backing local companies across every sector, with water turning up as one slice of the deal flow rather than the point of it.
CIC almost never anchors a round on its own. CIC shows up inside syndicates beside the usual French ecosystem, Bpifrance, BNP Paribas Developpement, Banque Populaire, the same institutional names that finance most early French startups. For a founder, CIC is the bank-credibility name that rounds out a French funding round, not the partner who brings water-sector conviction or technical diligence.
CIC is worth knowing for what it signals rather than what it specialises in. It is a marker of where French institutional money quietly touches water, through a 167-year-old bank's regional cheques rather than a dedicated climate or water mandate. If you are raising in France and already have Bpifrance or a regional bank on board, CIC is the kind of name that can join the round; if you want a water-thesis lead, you will look elsewhere.
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 CIC invest in?
- CIC (Credit Industriel et Commercial) is a French universal bank; its private-equity and regional arms invest across many sectors, from industry to technology. In water, CIC has backed 2 companies tracked by (don't) Waste Water, Purecontrol and Luniwave, both early-stage French startups.
- Is CIC a water fund?
- CIC is not a water fund. CIC is a 167-year-old French commercial bank, owned by the Credit Mutuel group, that co-invests in startups across many sectors. Water is a small slice of its activity: 2 companies across 2 deals, and CIC rarely acts as the lead investor.
- Where is CIC based?
- CIC (Credit Industriel et Commercial) is headquartered in Paris, France, and operates through seven regional banks across the country. Founded in 1859, it has belonged to the Credit Mutuel group since 1998. Its startup investments typically back French companies close to those regional networks.
- Is CIC the same as Cambridge Innovation Capital or China Investment Corporation?
- No. CIC here is Credit Industriel et Commercial, the French bank founded in 1859. It is unrelated to Cambridge Innovation Capital (a UK deep-tech venture firm), China Investment Corporation (China's sovereign wealth fund), or CIC the coworking operator, which all share the initials.
- How many water deals has CIC done?
- As of 2026, CIC has backed 2 water companies across 2 deals in the (don't) Waste Water dataset: Purecontrol, an AI water and energy optimisation platform, and Luniwave, which cuts the water hotels use. Both are early-stage French startups, and CIC co-invested alongside other French institutions.