daphni Blue completes €260M final close for science-driven European investments

In an era where venture capital markets have slowed to a crawl, France-based daphni has just pulled off a remarkable feat: closing its Blue fund at €260 million, surpassing its initial target and proving that deep science still has deep pockets. The closing, achieved in just nine months, signals not just investor confidence but a growing belief that Europe’s research labs are the next frontier for transformative innovation.

Daphni, a mission-driven venture capital firm, has long championed the idea that Europe’s scientific capital—particularly in fields like biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics—holds the key to solving some of the world’s most pressing societal and environmental challenges. With this new fund, the firm is doubling down on its strategy to translate academic breakthroughs into scalable, entrepreneurial ventures.

The timing is notable. While global venture capital has been cooling, daphni’s ability to attract capital speaks volumes about the appetite for science-driven innovation. The fund has already deployed capital into nine deep tech companies emerging from France’s top research institutions, including INRIA, Institut Curie, INSERM, and Institut Langevin. This rapid pace of investment underscores both daphni’s operational maturity and the strength of its model, which blends a vast entrepreneurial community with a cutting-edge digital platform.

At the heart of the Blue fund is a conviction: the next wave of technological breakthroughs will emerge at the intersection of science, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and the physical world. But these innovations require more than just brilliant ideas—they need long-term capital and specialized support to navigate the complex journey from lab to market.

Pierre-Eric Leibovici, Founder and Managing Partner of daphni, puts it bluntly: Europe generates a staggering volume of intellectual property through its public and private research, yet the transition from laboratory to commercial application remains underdeveloped and underfunded. “This is precisely where the opportunity lies,” he says. “Transforming this exceptional scientific capital into technology-driven entrepreneurial ventures that create both economic and societal value.”

The Blue fund’s first investments offer a glimpse into the kind of ventures daphni is backing. Owlo, spun out of Institut Langevin, is pioneering real-time, non-invasive 3D microscopy for fertility and pharmaceutical research. EverDye is revolutionizing textile dyeing with a green chemistry approach that slashes environmental impact. Karavela, emerging from INRIA, is developing a brain foundation model based on functional MRI data to enable new digital biomarkers and non-invasive brain-machine interfaces. Neotis is targeting age-related chronic diseases by developing immunotherapies aimed at pathological senescent cells.

These companies are not just scientific curiosities—they are potential game-changers in their respective fields, and daphni’s backing provides them with the resources and expertise to scale.

But daphni’s approach goes beyond financial returns. In line with its mission-driven strategy, a portion of the fund’s carried interest is tied to ESG criteria, ensuring that long-term impact is baked into the value creation process. This dual focus on profit and purpose is increasingly rare in venture capital, and it positions daphni as a leader in the next generation of impact investing.

The Blue fund plans to support around 40 European companies, building on the success of previous investments like Epyr, Moonwatt, Pasqal, and Pruna AI. These earlier ventures have already demonstrated the value-creation potential of daphni’s science-based approach, and the firm is now poised to replicate that success at scale.

In a world where technological breakthroughs are often associated with Silicon Valley, daphni’s Blue fund is a powerful reminder that Europe’s research labs are brimming with untapped potential. By bridging the gap between science and entrepreneurship, daphni is not just investing in companies—it’s investing in the future.

As the global venture capital landscape continues to evolve, one thing is clear: the fusion of deep science and entrepreneurial ambition is not just a trend, but a blueprint for the next era of innovation. And with the Blue fund, daphni is leading the charge.

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Europe’s research labs are the next frontier for venture capital.
Daphni closes €260M Blue fund, proving deep science still attracts deep pockets.
From lab to market: Daphni’s mission to turn scientific breakthroughs into entrepreneurial ventures.
ESG-linked carry: Daphni aligns profit with purpose in its latest fund.
Europe’s untapped potential: How daphni is bridging the gap between science and startups.
The future of innovation is being built in Europe’s research institutions.
Daphni’s Blue fund: A blueprint for the next era of science-driven entrepreneurship.,