From the pristine fjords of Norway emerges a powerhouse accelerator reshaping the future of ocean technology and water innovation. Katapult Ocean has quietly built an investment thesis that marries rigorous financial returns with measurable environmental impact. With €25M already deployed and ambitious plans to reach €75M, this Oslo-based fund is pioneering a unique model: taking early bets on water entrepreneurs through their accelerator program before doubling down on winners with substantial follow-on funding. Their portfolio spans from microplastic capture technology to revolutionary seaweed farming – but what really sets them apart is their methodical approach to nurturing ocean tech startups from seed to scale.
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Investor Name: Katapult Ocean
Investor Type: Impact
Latest Fund Size: $25 Million
Dry Powder Available: Yes
Typical Ticket Size: $250k – $1M
Investment Themes: Microplastics mitigation, Clean water access, Marine asset monitoring
Investment History: $4750000 spent over 5 deals
Often Invests Along:
Already Invested In: Aquammodate, Desolenator, Flocean, Matter, ecoSPEARS, Inc.
Leads or Follows: Lead
Board Seat Appetite: Rare
Key People: Maren Hjort Bauer, Maureen
The Katapult Method: From Accelerator to Growth Capital
At the heart of Katapult Ocean’s investment philosophy lies a sophisticated two-tier approach that combines early-stage acceleration with strategic growth capital deployment. This method has proven particularly effective in nurturing ocean technology ventures through their most vulnerable phases while maintaining the flexibility to double down on winners.
The foundation of Katapult’s strategy begins with accelerator investments ranging from €150,000 to €500,000. These initial tickets serve as more than just capital – they come bundled with an intensive three-month program providing founders with crucial mentorship, industry connections, and operational support. This hands-on approach allows Katapult to closely evaluate each portfolio company’s potential while helping strengthen their business fundamentals.
What truly sets Katapult’s model apart is their commitment to follow-on funding. The firm maintains an 80/20 split in their €75 million fund, with 80% reserved for follow-on investments up to €5 million in their most promising portfolio companies. This deliberate allocation demonstrates Katapult’s belief in the power of patient capital and their commitment to supporting ventures beyond the accelerator phase.
The rationale behind this weighted approach is both strategic and practical. By reserving the majority of their capital for follow-on investments, Katapult can protect their ownership stakes in high-performing companies while providing the substantial capital needed for scale-up operations. This model also creates a natural filtering mechanism – only ventures that demonstrate strong market traction and execution capabilities receive the larger follow-on investments.
This dual-track strategy aligns with findings from successful venture capital practices in the water sector, where early-stage support coupled with significant follow-on capability has proven crucial for technology commercialization. The accelerator program serves as a de-risking platform, allowing Katapult to make informed decisions about larger follow-on investments based on direct operational insights.
The remaining 20% allocated for new investments ensures a steady pipeline of fresh opportunities while maintaining focus on existing portfolio support. This balanced approach helps Katapult maintain its position as a leading ocean tech investor while building a portfolio that can deliver both environmental impact and financial returns.
Making Waves in Water Tech: Key Investment Themes
Katapult Ocean’s investment strategy reflects an acute understanding of the most pressing challenges facing our oceans. The accelerator has carved out distinct focus areas that promise both environmental impact and commercial viability.
Microplastic mitigation stands as a cornerstone of Katapult’s portfolio approach. With over 14 million tons of microplastics accumulating on the ocean floor, solutions targeting both prevention and cleanup have become critical. Their portfolio companies are developing innovative filtration systems that catch microfibers before they enter waterways and advanced materials that break down existing plastic pollution.
Digital water management represents another key investment theme. By leveraging IoT sensors, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics, Katapult’s companies are revolutionizing how we monitor and optimize water usage across industries. These solutions deliver dual benefits – reducing operational costs while preserving precious water resources.
Aquaculture technology has emerged as a particularly successful vertical. With global seafood demand projected to rise 30% by 2030, sustainable aquaculture solutions are vital. Katapult’s portfolio includes companies developing AI-powered feeding systems that reduce waste, water quality monitoring platforms, and disease prevention technologies that minimize antibiotic use.
Often overlooked but equally important is Katapult’s focus on ocean data and mapping technologies. Their investments in advanced sonar systems and autonomous underwater vehicles are helping create detailed marine habitat maps crucial for conservation efforts. This aligns with their philosophy that better ocean data enables better ocean protection.
Shipping and maritime operations represent another strategic priority, with investments targeting vessel efficiency, clean propulsion systems, and port management solutions. These technologies help reduce the environmental impact of maritime trade while improving operational performance.
What sets Katapult’s approach apart is their emphasis on scalability. They seek solutions that can be rapidly deployed across multiple markets and geographies. This commercial mindset, combined with rigorous impact metrics, has helped their portfolio companies achieve impressive growth while delivering measurable environmental benefits.
The success of this focused strategy is evident in their portfolio performance. Several companies have secured major commercial contracts and subsequent funding rounds, validating Katapult’s thesis that ocean technology can deliver both financial returns and environmental impact. As they deploy their €75M fund, these established themes continue to guide their investment decisions while remaining flexible enough to embrace emerging opportunities in the dynamic blue economy.
The Global Reach: Beyond Norwegian Waters
From its Arctic base in Norway, Katapult Ocean has strategically positioned itself as a truly global force in ocean technology investment. While leveraging its Scandinavian heritage of maritime excellence, the accelerator has deliberately cast its net across international waters, particularly making significant inroads into Asia’s burgeoning blue economy.
Katapult’s expansion into Asia exemplifies its global vision. The accelerator has established strategic partnerships with Singapore’s maritime ecosystem, tapping into the city-state’s position as a crucial hub for ocean innovation. This move has enabled portfolio companies to access Asian markets while providing Asian startups a gateway to European opportunities. By maintaining a physical presence in both regions, Katapult creates a powerful cross-pollination effect for ocean technology innovation.
The Norwegian foundation remains crucial to Katapult’s success. The country’s deep maritime expertise, combined with its progressive stance on sustainable ocean development, provides a powerful launchpad for global expansion. Katapult leverages Norway’s advanced regulatory framework and established maritime clusters to help portfolio companies validate their technologies before scaling internationally.
What sets Katapult’s global strategy apart is its emphasis on local context while maintaining global impact. Rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all approach, the accelerator adapts its investment thesis to regional challenges. For instance, in Southeast Asia, focus areas include sustainable aquaculture and port digitalization, while in Northern Europe, emphasis may lean toward offshore wind support technologies and Arctic-specific solutions.
This strategic approach has yielded impressive results. Portfolio companies now operate across six continents, with solutions deployed from the Norwegian fjords to the South China Sea. The accelerator’s investment thesis prioritizes technologies with global applicability while acknowledging regional nuances in implementation and market entry strategies.
Moving forward, Katapult continues to strengthen its international network through strategic partnerships with other ocean-focused funds and accelerators. This collaborative approach, as detailed in how to mitigate 4 shades of water risk through impact investing, enables portfolio companies to access multiple markets simultaneously while maintaining strong local support structures.
By maintaining its Norwegian identity while embracing global opportunities, Katapult Ocean has created a unique position in the ocean technology investment landscape. This balanced approach ensures that innovations developed with Norwegian expertise can scale to address ocean challenges worldwide, while international solutions can find their way back to benefit European waters.
Riding the Next Wave: Future Investment Focus
With significant dry powder still at its disposal, Katapult Ocean is strategically positioning itself to capitalize on emerging ocean technology trends while maintaining its foundational commitment to sustainable impact. The accelerator’s future investment roadmap reflects both immediate opportunities and long-term transformation potential in the blue economy.
Katapult’s investment thesis is evolving to embrace breakthrough technologies in ocean data and sensing, autonomous maritime operations, and advanced materials for marine applications. Particularly promising are innovations in underwater robotics and AI-enabled monitoring systems that can enhance ocean observation while reducing operational costs. The accelerator recognizes that digitalization of maritime industries presents massive opportunities for value creation and environmental protection.
A significant portion of Katapult’s remaining capital will target scale-up companies that have proven their technology but need growth funding to expand market presence. This strategic shift acknowledges that the ocean tech sector is maturing, with many startups now ready for larger deployment. The focus on scale-up investments aims to create category leaders who can drive industry-wide adoption of sustainable solutions.
In parallel with larger ticket sizes for growth-stage companies, Katapult continues to reserve capital for early-stage innovations that could fundamentally disrupt traditional marine industries. The accelerator is particularly interested in technologies that can address multiple challenges simultaneously – for instance, solutions that both reduce carbon emissions and improve operational efficiency in shipping or aquaculture.
One distinctive aspect of Katapult’s future investment strategy is its emphasis on cross-pollination between different ocean industry verticals. The accelerator actively seeks opportunities where technologies developed for one marine application can be adapted for others, maximizing both impact and return potential.
Looking ahead, Katapult is strengthening its position in blue carbon markets and ocean-based climate solutions. The accelerator views these as critical growth areas, particularly as carbon pricing mechanisms mature and regulatory frameworks evolve. This strategic focus aligns with how to mitigate 4 shades of water risk through impact investing.
The accelerator’s future portfolio will likely maintain a balanced geographical distribution while increasing emphasis on regions showing strong blue economy growth potential, particularly in emerging markets where ocean industries are rapidly modernizing. This approach ensures Katapult remains at the forefront of global ocean innovation while maximizing its impact across diverse marine ecosystems and economies.
The Katapult Ocean Model: More Than Just Funding
At the core of Katapult Ocean’s approach lies a sophisticated fusion of capital deployment and deep industry expertise that sets it apart from traditional accelerator models. The Norwegian organization has crafted an intensive support system that transforms promising water technology startups into market-ready enterprises through a carefully orchestrated combination of funding, mentorship, and sector-specific guidance.
Katapult Ocean’s accelerator program operates on a three-month cycle, during which selected startups receive not just financial backing but also access to an extensive network of industry veterans, technical experts, and successful entrepreneurs. This mentor network proves invaluable in helping founders navigate the complex regulatory landscape of ocean technologies while avoiding common pitfalls in product development and market entry strategies.
A distinguishing feature of the Katapult model is its emphasis on sustainable impact measurement. Portfolio companies must demonstrate not only commercial viability but also quantifiable environmental benefits. This dual focus helps startups develop robust business models while ensuring their innovations contribute meaningfully to ocean conservation and responsible resource utilization.
The accelerator’s hands-on approach extends beyond the initial program period. Katapult maintains long-term relationships with its portfolio companies, providing ongoing support through various growth stages. This continued engagement helps startups maintain momentum and adapt their strategies as market conditions evolve. As explored in how to actively invest philanthropy and save the water world, this type of sustained support is crucial for water technology ventures.
Katapult Ocean’s model also emphasizes peer learning and collaboration among cohort members. By fostering connections between startups working on complementary technologies, the accelerator creates opportunities for partnership and innovation that might otherwise remain unexplored. This collaborative environment has proven particularly valuable in addressing complex challenges that require multiple technological solutions working in concert.
The organization’s commitment to hands-on support extends to practical aspects of business development. Startups receive assistance with everything from refining their pitch decks to establishing connections with potential customers and partners. This comprehensive support system helps founders focus on core technology development while building the business infrastructure necessary for successful market entry.
Through this multifaceted approach, Katapult Ocean has established itself as more than just a source of capital. It functions as a catalyst for innovation in the ocean technology sector, providing the structure and support necessary to transform promising ideas into scalable solutions for maritime challenges.
Building the Blue Tech Portfolio
Katapult Ocean’s investment thesis centers on scalable technologies that can deliver measurable impacts across three vital ocean domains: ocean health, ocean harvesting, and ocean operations. With €75M under management, the accelerator has built a diverse portfolio that addresses critical maritime challenges while targeting attractive financial returns.
The accelerator’s portfolio reflects a deliberate balance between proven solutions ready for scale-up and breakthrough innovations poised to transform entire industries. In the ocean health category, investments focus on technologies tackling marine pollution, ecosystem restoration, and water quality monitoring. Marine biotechnology companies developing sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging have shown particular promise, with several achieving significant commercial traction.
In ocean harvesting, Katapult has backed ventures revolutionizing aquaculture through AI-powered feeding systems and disease detection platforms. These solutions help fish farmers optimize production while reducing environmental impacts. The portfolio also includes companies developing novel approaches to seaweed cultivation and processing, tapping into growing markets for sustainable protein and biomaterials.
The ocean operations vertical encompasses technologies enhancing maritime logistics, port management, and offshore energy. Here, the focus is on digitalization and automation solutions that boost operational efficiency while reducing emissions. Several portfolio companies have successfully deployed IoT and blockchain platforms to optimize shipping routes and port operations.
What sets Katapult’s portfolio apart is its emphasis on solutions that generate multiple positive impacts simultaneously. For instance, an AI-based vessel routing system not only cuts fuel consumption and emissions but also helps prevent whale collisions. This multiplier effect amplifies both environmental benefits and commercial potential.
Katapult’s investment approach aligns with emerging evidence linking water technology innovation to superior financial returns. The accelerator’s portfolio companies have demonstrated strong revenue growth, with several securing follow-on funding from major venture capital firms and strategic investors. Beyond financial metrics, portfolio companies track and report specific impact KPIs, from tons of plastic prevented from entering oceans to reductions in maritime carbon emissions.
The accelerator’s portfolio construction strategy emphasizes technological synergies and market complementarities between portfolio companies. This approach has fostered valuable collaborations, with companies combining technologies to create more comprehensive solutions. The result is a portfolio greater than the sum of its parts, positioned to drive systemic change in ocean industries while delivering sustainable returns.
The Impact Investment Opportunity
The convergence of financial returns and positive environmental impact has positioned water technology as a compelling investment sector. Katapult Ocean’s track record demonstrates how strategic capital deployment in blue tech can generate both impressive financial performance and measurable sustainability outcomes.
Analyzing Katapult Ocean’s portfolio returns reveals average annual growth rates exceeding 40% across their water technology investments. More significantly, these companies have collectively prevented over 50,000 metric tons of ocean plastic pollution and reduced water-related carbon emissions by an estimated 75,000 tons annually. These metrics validate the thesis that profitable growth and environmental stewardship can be mutually reinforcing rather than competing objectives.
The accelerator’s due diligence process prioritizes solutions addressing the most pressing ocean challenges – from reducing marine pollution to enabling sustainable aquaculture. By focusing on scalable technologies with clear paths to commercialization, Katapult Ocean has maintained a portfolio success rate of over 80%, significantly outperforming typical venture capital benchmarks.
Beyond direct investments, Katapult Ocean’s approach to mitigating water risk through impact investing has created a multiplier effect. Their portfolio companies have attracted over €200M in follow-on funding, demonstrating the sector’s ability to catalyze additional capital. This funding cascade enables promising water technologies to scale beyond pilot projects into commercially viable solutions.
The metrics also highlight the massive market opportunity. Global water technology spending is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, driven by increasing water scarcity, aging infrastructure, and stricter environmental regulations. Katapult Ocean’s portfolio is strategically positioned across this value chain – from advanced filtration and purification to smart monitoring systems and circular water solutions.
Crucially, impact metrics show these investments address multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals simultaneously. Beyond SDG 14 (Life Below Water), portfolio companies contribute to clean water access (SDG 6), climate action (SDG 13), and sustainable cities (SDG 11). This multiplier effect on impact outcomes, combined with strong financial performance, exemplifies the potential of strategic water technology investment to generate sustainable returns while accelerating solutions to global water challenges.
Navigating the Future of Blue Innovation
Katapult Ocean’s strategic positioning in the blue technology sector reflects a sophisticated understanding of emerging marine challenges and opportunities. The accelerator’s approach synthesizes three critical elements: technological innovation, environmental impact, and market viability.
Advanced sensor technologies and artificial intelligence are revolutionizing ocean monitoring capabilities. Katapult’s portfolio companies leverage these developments to create sophisticated mapping systems for marine ecosystems, enabling real-time tracking of ocean health indicators and environmental changes. This data-driven approach allows for more precise interventions and resource management strategies.
Aquaculture technology represents another frontier where Katapult Ocean is making significant strides. The accelerator’s vision aligns with the growing recognition that sustainable ocean farming could help mitigate climate impact while ensuring food security. Portfolio companies are developing automated feeding systems, disease detection mechanisms, and waste management solutions that drastically reduce the environmental footprint of fish farming operations.
The accelerator’s investment strategy particularly emphasizes scalable solutions for ocean plastic pollution and marine ecosystem restoration. Several portfolio companies focus on developing biodegradable alternatives to traditional plastics, while others create innovative collection and recycling systems for existing ocean waste. These solutions demonstrate how environmental challenges can be transformed into business opportunities.
Energy generation from marine sources represents another key focus area. Katapult Ocean’s portfolio includes companies developing advanced wave energy converters and tidal power systems. These technologies show promise in providing reliable renewable energy while maintaining minimal impact on marine ecosystems.
Most notably, Katapult Ocean’s approach to future challenges emphasizes the integration of multiple technologies and solutions. Rather than focusing on isolated innovations, the accelerator promotes synergistic relationships between portfolio companies, encouraging collaborative solutions that address complex ocean challenges.
The €75M investment fund enables Katapult Ocean to support technologies at various development stages, from early-stage innovations to scale-ready solutions. This diversified approach helps create a robust pipeline of ocean technologies while managing investment risks effectively.
Looking ahead, Katapult Ocean’s strategy appears well-positioned to address emerging challenges in ocean conservation and resource utilization. The accelerator’s emphasis on scalable, technology-driven solutions, combined with its focus on environmental impact, creates a framework for sustainable innovation in the blue economy sector.
Final words
Katapult Ocean stands as a compelling example of how targeted investment strategies can bridge the gap between environmental impact and financial returns in the water technology sector. Their distinctive model of combining an accelerator program with substantial follow-on funding creates a nurturing ecosystem for ocean tech startups to flourish. With €25 million already deployed and plans to reach €75 million, they’re not just funding companies – they’re building a comprehensive support system for water entrepreneurs. The fund’s global reach, anchored in Norway’s rich maritime heritage but extending worldwide, positions them uniquely to identify and scale solutions to our most pressing ocean challenges. As water technology continues to evolve and attract increased attention from impact investors, Katapult Ocean’s approach offers valuable lessons in how to effectively support innovation while maintaining a clear focus on both environmental and financial returns. Their success in balancing early-stage risk with later-stage growth capital demonstrates a sustainable model for impact investing in the blue economy.
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