SWEN Capital Partners has raised EUR 160 million (USD 182 million) for its ocean impact fund dubbed SWEN Blue Ocean 2.
SWEN said it intends to make its Blue Ocean 2 fund the world’s largest impact venture fund focused on the regeneration of the ocean. The fund will invest in startups working to tackle issues facing ocean biodiversity, mainly in the areas of overfishing, pollution, and climate change.
“The SWEN Blue Ocean strategy fully embodies the mission we have set for ourselves: putting investment at the service of nature,” SWEN Capital Partners CEO Jérôme Delmas said in a release. “We are acutely aware of the responsibility we bear as investors, and of the role we can play by supporting high-impact projects with strong transformative potential – projects that can make a tangible contribution to the regeneration of marine biodiversity.”
SWEN said that the investment firm is targeting EUR 300 million (EUR 342 million) in funding for Blue Ocean 2, up from the EUR 170 million (USD 194 million) it raised via its inaugural Blue Ocean fund. That fund has already invested in a number of projects, including WSEnse – an aquatech firm based in Rome Italy developing underwater wireless communication systems – and Noray Seafood, an indoor shrimp farm in Medina del Campo, Spain.
SWEN said that its newer fund saw “significant investor interest,” and that it reached the EUR 160 million total in its first close, with participation from notable investors like the European Investment Fund, France 2030, Bpifrance, Macif, Abeille Assurances, Matmut, Suravenir, Mutuelle de Poitiers and Conseil de la Protection Sociale des Travailleurs Indépendants (CPSTI).
The company said that it will use Blue Ocean Fund 2 to invest in Series A funding rounds of companies focused on ocean biodiversity, with a focus on European companies. It also said it has an expanded ability to invest in companies outside of Europe since its first efforts.
“Our fund strategy remains more relevant than ever. Ocean action is growing in importance on the global stage, with the international community, governments and companies working together to prioritize ocean protection,” SWEN Ocean Blue Co-Managing Director Christian Lim said. “The start-up ecosystem plays an important role in this effort, providing innovative solutions to transform massive industries at scale and at pace.”
The investment firm said its new fund will enable it to take the lead on funding startups more often, allowing it to write first tickets of up to EUR 12 million (USD 13 million).
“We have seen renewed interest from existing Blue Ocean investors and have also had many significant new investors commit to the Fund,” SWEN Ocean Blue Co-Managing Director Olivier Raybaud said. “With this latest fund, we will bring scale to a proven strategy, allowing us to take a lead role on more investments globally and support even more companies.”
