Emerald Technology Ventures Hits €100M Milestone for Global Water Fund II, Backed by Temasek and Grundfos
TL;DR
Swiss VC Emerald Technology Ventures has reached the €100 million milestone for its Global Water Fund II, welcoming Temasek and the Grundfos Foundation as new limited partners. The fund is targeting €150–180 million total and will back early- to growth-stage startups across the global water value chain — from infrastructure resilience and advanced treatment to digital monitoring and emerging contaminant remediation. This is one of the few dedicated water-tech funds of scale globally, and the LP roster signals serious institutional conviction in water as a critical infrastructure investment category.
Key Takeaways
Temasek's return signals conviction, not opportunism. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund was already a cornerstone LP in Emerald's first Global Water Fund, which closed at $100M in 2020. Re-upping for Fund II is a strong signal — Temasek doesn't chase trends, and its continued commitment to water infrastructure reflects a long-term thesis about climate-driven water scarcity becoming a systemic risk.
The Grundfos Foundation anchor is a strategic masterstroke. Grundfos is the world's largest pump manufacturer — the company literally moves water at planetary scale. Their Foundation joining as an LP is the kind of strategic alignment that most fund managers dream about: Emerald gains deep industry access and market intelligence, while Grundfos positions itself at the frontier of the technologies that will complement, and potentially disrupt, its core business.
Water tech is the quiet beneficiary of the climate investment wave. While the headlines go to solar, EVs, and carbon capture, water infrastructure has a more compelling near-term investment case. The global water market is worth over $1 trillion annually, yet digital transformation and innovative infrastructure spending remain chronically underfunded relative to the scale of the problem. Emerald has now spent two decades building proprietary deal flow in this space.
Fund I exits validate the strategy. Emerald's first Global Water Fund produced exits to SUEZ, Xylem, and BASF — three global industrial giants. These aren't PE roll-up exits or financial engineering plays; they're technology acquisitions by companies that needed the capabilities. That's the most durable exit pathway in deep-tech VC, and it signals a repeatable model.
Fund Overview
Fund Name: Global Water Fund II
Fund Size: €100M raised (targeting €150–180M total)
Stage: Early- to growth-stage
Check Size: Not publicly disclosed
Geography: Global (offices in Zurich, Toronto, Singapore)
Focus: Water infrastructure and resilience, advanced treatment and reuse, digital monitoring and automation, emerging contaminant solutions
Key LPs: Temasek, Grundfos Foundation, Veralto Corporation, Ecolab, SKion Water, Oxy Technology Ventures, DIC Corporation
Why This Fund Matters
The global water crisis is accelerating faster than policy responses or capital deployment. By 2030, global water demand is projected to exceed supply by 40%, according to the UN. Yet venture capital for water technology remains a tiny fraction of climate tech investment overall. Emerald has spent 25 years building the relationships, expertise, and deal flow to operate in this space before it became fashionable.
What makes Global Water Fund II structurally interesting is the nature of its LP base. This is not a fund of financial institutions hedging ESG exposure — it's a fund anchored by industrial operators with genuine skin in the game. Ecolab is a $58 billion water treatment company. Veralto Corporation spun out of Danaher specifically to focus on water quality and precision instruments. Grundfos moves roughly 1 in every 10 liters of water on earth through its pumps. These are companies that will actively create exit opportunities for Emerald's portfolio.
The timing matters too. The US Inflation Reduction Act, the EU Green Deal, and infrastructure spending bills across Asia have unlocked unprecedented public investment in water infrastructure. Private venture capital that can bridge from innovation to those procurement pipelines is in a strong position. Emerald's network of corporate LPs provides exactly that commercial access.
From a fund manager perspective, Emerald's position is enviable: 25 years of sector focus, over €1 billion in AUM, five active mandates, and a track record of exits to the exact buyers that water-tech startups need to reach. It's the kind of sustained specialization that generalist climate funds cannot replicate.
The Team
Emerald Technology Ventures was founded in 2000 and manages over €1 billion in assets from offices in Zurich, Toronto, and Singapore. The firm's water practice is led by Dr. Helge Daebel, a Partner who has spent his career at the intersection of environmental engineering and venture capital. Dr. Daebel has built Emerald's water investment practice into one of the few globally recognized specialist franchises in the sector, with a track record spanning two fund cycles. The firm's cross-geography presence — Zurich for European industrial networks, Toronto for North American deal flow, Singapore for APAC and the Temasek relationship — reflects a genuinely global investment posture in a sector where water challenges are highly regionalized.
Early Portfolio
The fund has backed Hydrosat, a satellite-based water stress and crop monitoring company that uses thermal infrared imaging to deliver precision agricultural and water management data. Fund I exits included technology acquisitions by SUEZ, Xylem, and BASF, demonstrating the fund's access to the most active strategic acquirers in the water sector.
What This Means for Founders
If you are building in water infrastructure, water quality, digital water management, or adjacent climate resilience technology, Emerald is one of the few funds globally that combines check-writing with genuine sector expertise and direct LP networks that can accelerate commercial traction. The fund's corporate LP base — particularly Ecolab, Veralto, and Grundfos — are potential customers, distribution partners, and acquirers, not passive capital providers.
The fund is sector-agnostic within water — it will back advanced materials, sensors, AI-powered monitoring, treatment chemistry, digital infrastructure, and supply chain optimization as long as water impact is central. Founders in adjacent spaces like industrial IoT, precision agriculture, or climate adaptation technology who have a defensible water angle should be on Emerald's radar.
Fund Momentum Take
Water tech is the most defensible climate investment thesis of the next decade, and Emerald is one of the few VC firms globally that has earned the right to lead it. Their LP roster is not a coincidence — it reflects 25 years of relationship building and a reputation for finding exits that matter. Most climate VCs get into a sector when the narrative peaks; Emerald was in water before water was a narrative.
The corporate LP model is also underappreciated. By having Ecolab, Grundfos, Veralto, and Oxy Technology Ventures as LPs, Emerald has essentially pre-negotiated commercial access for its portfolio companies with the buyers that matter most. That's not just financial capital — it's distribution capital, validation capital, and exit optionality rolled into one LP structure. The comparable in AI would be having Google, Microsoft, and AWS as your LPs. Rare, and powerful.
Our bet: Global Water Fund II will be oversubscribed before it hits its €150–180M target. The macro winds are behind water tech, the track record is proven, and the LP quality signals strong follow-on conviction. If you're a founder in this space and haven't spoken to Dr. Daebel's team, now is the time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the target size for Global Water Fund II?
The fund is targeting a total of €150–180 million. It has reached €100 million at its latest close, with Temasek and the Grundfos Foundation joining as new LPs alongside returning investors Ecolab, Veralto, SKion Water, Oxy Technology Ventures, and DIC Corporation.
How is this different from Emerald's first Global Water Fund?
The first Global Water Fund closed at $100 million in 2020 and backed companies that later exited to SUEZ, Xylem, and BASF. Fund II builds on that track record with a larger target, a broader LP base, and a more expansive mandate covering digital water management, reuse technologies, and emerging contaminant solutions.
What sectors within water does this fund target?
The fund covers the entire water value chain: infrastructure resilience, advanced treatment and reuse, digital monitoring and prediction, AI-enabled automation, and technologies addressing emerging contaminants like PFAS. It will invest globally across early- to growth-stage companies.
Who are the key limited partners and what is their strategic significance?
Temasek is Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. The Grundfos Foundation owns Grundfos, the world's largest pump manufacturer. Ecolab and Veralto are major water treatment corporations. SKion Water is a vehicle of BMW heiress Susanne Klatten focused on water innovation. This LP base provides Emerald's portfolio companies with potential customers, pilots, and acquirers.
How can founders engage with Emerald?
Founders working on water infrastructure, digital water management, advanced treatment, or related climate resilience technology can reach out directly through emerald.vc. The fund's offices in Zurich, Toronto, and Singapore handle European, North American, and APAC deal flow respectively.
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