Katapult
Katapult is a Norwegian impact-investment platform whose ocean arm, Katapult Ocean, backs early-stage blue-economy startups out of Oslo, Cape Town and Singapore. Water runs through that thesis as a distinct cluster: as of 2026 Katapult has backed 6 water companies across 7 deals, led by desalination, membranes and microplastic filtration.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Katapult began as an Oslo accelerator built by Tharald Nustad, a tech entrepreneur who pivoted his money into impact around 2014. In 2018 he spun up Katapult Ocean, a fund dedicated entirely to the blue economy, and it has since grown into one of the most active ocean investors anywhere, with offices in Oslo, Cape Town and Singapore. Water treatment was never the headline, yet it kept turning up in the deal flow.
Katapult's water bets cluster around one stubborn problem: getting clean water out of hard places. Flocean sinks its desalination units 500 metres down so the ocean's own pressure does the pumping; Desolenator runs distillation on nothing but sunlight; Sand to Green pairs solar-powered desalination with regreening patches of desert. Around that desalination core sit the membrane and filtration plays - Retein's aquaporin membranes, Matter's washing-machine filter that traps microplastics before they reach the drain, and ecoSPEARS' NASA-born system for pulling toxins out of contaminated water. The through-line is treatment hardware, almost always with an ocean or climate edge.
Katapult writes early cheques, from Seed to Series A, and tends to invest alongside a lead rather than out front. In September 2025 it widened the map again, teaming up with Singapore's OCTAVE Capital to launch a $75M Asia Ocean Fund aimed at more than twenty blue-economy companies over five years. For a newcomer the read is simple: this is an ocean investor first, and its water exposure rides in on desalination and the hardware that cleans what we drink.
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 · 6 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Katapult invest in?
- Katapult invests in early-stage blue-economy startups through its ocean fund, Katapult Ocean, spanning maritime, aquaculture, ocean energy and water. Its water cluster runs to 6 companies across 7 deals, focused on desalination, filtration membranes and contaminant removal, backed from Seed to Series A.
- Who runs Katapult Ocean?
- Katapult Ocean was founded by Tharald Nustad and is led by CEO and General Partner Jonas Skattum Svegaarden, alongside General Partner and Investment Director Ross Brooks. The Oslo-based investment team also includes investment manager Anthony Bellafiore, with offices in Cape Town and Singapore.
- Where is Katapult based?
- Katapult is based in Oslo, Norway, where the group was founded in 2016. Its ocean fund, Katapult Ocean, launched in 2018 and has since opened offices in Cape Town and Singapore, describing itself as one of the most active ocean impact investors, with dozens of blue-economy investments to date.
- Is Katapult the same as Katapult Ocean?
- Not quite. Katapult is the broader Norwegian impact platform, which also runs an accelerator and a foundation; Katapult Ocean is its dedicated ocean-investment fund. The water companies on this profile, all desalination, membrane and filtration startups, are backed through Katapult Ocean, the group's blue-economy arm.