Daphni, a Paris-based VC firm and early backer of French unicorns Back Market and Swile, has announced the final close of its latest fund at €260m, targeting early-stage science-based startups in Europe tackling environmental and social challenges.
The fund will focus on “scientists-entrepreneurs” with strong intellectual property building companies based on fundamental research in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and the life sciences.
“In the last 6 to 12 months we’ve observed a commoditisation of digital and AI,” says Daphni founder Pierre-Eric Leibovici. “It’s possible to duplicate a SaaS tool in three seconds. There’s going to be a brutal return to reality for many of these companies which raised cash and weren’t able to create value and gain market shares.”
He adds: “To create sustainable value you need an additional element, which is intellectual property that comes from science.”
To source deals the firm is working with academic institutions and laboratories including the French atomic energy commission (CEA) and the national institute of health and medical research (INSERM).
The fund will invest in up to 50 startups with tickets ranging from €500k-10m. Up to €20m will be invested into promising companies.
It has already backed 10 companies, including Paris-based Everdye, which has developed an environmentally friendly, patented textile dyeing technology, and Owlo, which is building non-invasive microscopy technology to see inside biological tissue in real time.
A sustainability focus
Daphni’s thesis focuses on sustainable projects ranging from healthcare to climate.
Climate tech has fallen out of favour with VCs in recent months, in part due to US president Donald Trump rolling back support for climate research and other initiatives at home and abroad. In Europe climate tech startups raised €17.7bn in 2025, according to Sifted data, a sharp fall from €27.8bn secured in 2024 (which included more than €15bn in debt funding).
Leibovici sees this as an opportunity. “We’re convinced, more than ever, that it’s a way to differentiate ourselves from America and Asia,” he says. “There’s an environmental consciousness that has disappeared globally but still exists in Europe.”
The strategy shift is around the nature of technology, he adds. In previous funds Daphni backed consumer-facing companies in mobility and the circular economy, such as second-hand electronics marketplace Back Market. Now it’s looking at science-first projects in fields like decarbonation, critical materials and energy.
