Daphni
Daphni is a Paris-based generalist venture capital firm that backs early-stage European tech and science startups, not a water specialist. Founded in 2015, it has backed roughly 115 companies, two of them in water. As of early 2026 Daphni closed daphni Blue, a 260 million euro fund turning European science into startups, including its water bets.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Daphni closed its third fund, daphni Blue, at 260 million euros at the start of 2026, and that fund is the lens for reading everything water on this page. Daphni is a Paris generalist, founded in 2015 as a mission-driven, B Corp venture firm that backs early-stage European startups across consumer, software and, increasingly, hard science. Water is a thin thread, not the cloth: of the roughly 115 companies Daphni has backed, two are in water.
Daphni did not arrive at water through a water thesis. It arrived through science. The Blue fund exists to turn European lab research, from institutions like INRIA and Institut Curie, into companies, and its mandate explicitly reaches for societal and environmental impact. That is the door water walked through: Daphni's water names are deeptech, not utility billing software. vorteX-io builds satellite-connected micro-stations that read rivers in real time to flag floods and droughts, and Leviathan Dynamics builds refrigeration compressors that run on water instead of chemical refrigerants.
Daphni is the kind of fund a newcomer should file under generalist-with-a-science-tilt, not water specialist, and the distinction matters when you read its deals. To my eye the telling move is the Blue fund itself: a French consumer-tech investor deliberately wading into the unglamorous, capital-heavy end of deeptech, where water problems actually live. If Daphni keeps writing science cheques, more water is likely to follow than its current count of two suggests, but for now Daphni backs water as one expression of a broader environmental-science bet, not a mission it leads with.
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 Daphni invest in?
- Daphni is a Paris-based generalist venture capital firm that backs early-stage European startups across consumer, software and science. Founded in 2015, it has invested in roughly 115 companies. Water is a small part of that book, with two water companies backed largely through its science-driven daphni Blue fund.
- Is Daphni a water-focused fund?
- No. Daphni is a generalist European venture capital firm, not a water specialist. Of the roughly 115 companies Daphni has backed since 2015, only two are in water. Those bets sit inside a broader science-and-environment thesis, not a dedicated water mandate, so Daphni reads best as a science-tilted generalist.
- What water companies has Daphni backed?
- Daphni has backed two water companies, both at early stages. vorteX-io builds satellite-connected micro-stations that monitor rivers in real time to flag floods and droughts, and Leviathan Dynamics develops refrigeration compressors that use water instead of chemical refrigerants. Daphni led neither round, coming in alongside co-investors such as Caisse des Depots.
- What is daphni Blue?
- daphni Blue is Daphni's third fund, which reached its final close, the last commitment of investor money, at 260 million euros in early 2026. The fund turns European scientific research, from institutions such as INRIA and Institut Curie, into startups with societal and environmental impact. Daphni's water investments sit within this mandate.
- Who runs Daphni?
- Daphni was co-founded in 2015 and is run by managing partners Pierre-Eric Leibovici and Pierre-Yves Meerschman. Its partner team includes Sofia Dahoune, who launched the firm's Blue Fellowship for scientific founders, and Paul Bazin. Leibovici has been the public voice of Daphni's science-driven Blue fund strategy.