Daphni has completed the final closing of its Blue venture fund at €260 million, according to a LinkedIn post from Pierre-Eric Leibovici, co-founder and partner at the Paris-based investment firm.
The firm is positioning Blue as a dedicated vehicle for companies built on scientific and engineering breakthroughs, arguing that long-term value creation will increasingly come from fundamental advances rather than incremental software features. Leibovici said the fund is being raised and deployed in an environment where many technology capabilities are becoming commoditized and where artificial intelligence is changing not just what can be built, but also the speed and cost at which products can be developed. In that context, he described Daphni’s approach as an effort to back innovation rooted in “deep science” that can translate into defensible companies and enduring advantages.
Leibovici said the final close reflects investor support for a strategy focused on unlocking the potential of European science across disciplines, including biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and life sciences. The goal, he wrote, is to connect research-driven breakthroughs to entrepreneurship and to build companies that can address major societal and environmental challenges. While he did not disclose the fund’s limited partners or additional terms of the raise, he framed the closing as a signal that institutional investors continue to allocate capital to differentiated venture strategies, even as many startups face a more selective fundraising market.
The pace of activity at Blue has been brisk. Leibovici said that in under a year the fund has already made nine investments, an early deployment cadence that suggests Daphni is leaning into a pipeline of research-originated companies and spinouts. He cited several portfolio examples—OWLO, EverDye, and Karavela—and said additional investment announcements are expected soon.
The announcement underscores a growing focus among European venture firms on backing science-powered categories where intellectual property, specialized know-how, and long development cycles can create moats that are harder to replicate. While AI has made it easier for new entrants to build and ship software quickly, many investors are increasingly emphasizing businesses that combine advanced computation with breakthroughs in areas like materials, biology, and industrial processes—fields where progress often depends on scientific validation, lab work, and domain expertise rather than product iteration alone.
Leibovici also thanked Daphni’s broader network—limited partners, founders, and researchers—highlighting the firm’s emphasis on building an ecosystem around scientific entrepreneurship. He positioned the fund as part of a broader effort to accelerate Europe’s ability to turn research excellence into global category leaders, describing the mission as building “Europe’s next generation of science-powered leaders.”
Daphni did not provide additional details in the post on fund strategy, check sizes, or sector allocation beyond the scientific domains referenced, but the firm’s messaging indicates Blue is intended to serve as a platform for early bets on breakthrough science with commercial potential, with further portfolio activity expected in the near term.
