Investor Profile: Katapult — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Katapult funding sits at the intersection of venture capital and systems change. Founded in Oslo in 2015 by Tharald Nustad, Katapult is an impact investment group built on the conviction that the companies solving the world's hardest problems will also become the most valuable businesses of this century. It has since backed more than 200 portfolio companies, with founders from over 50 countries, and operates as a family of funds, accelerators and platforms rather than a single fund.

The group is organised into four pillars, each with its own team: Katapult Ocean (ocean and blue-economy investing), the Katapult Impact Platform (pre-seed and seed impact investing), the Katapult Foundation (the non-profit arm) and Katapult Future Fest (an annual gathering for the global impact community).

The Katapult thesis: impact unicorns solving hard problems

Katapult invests where impact and scale are the same bet, not a trade-off. Katapult Ocean describes itself as the world's most active ocean impact investor, backing founders building technologies across transportation, circularity, ocean data, energy, and food and water from hubs in Oslo, Singapore and Cape Town. The Impact Platform applies a decade of track record to early-stage impact at pre-seed and seed, with current verticals including Responsible AI (with AI-safety expert Dr. Rumman Chowdhury) and Food Technology. Katapult Ocean invests first and companies then join its accelerator, with follow-on capital reserved for companies showing traction.

Sectors, stages and cheque size

Katapult operates at pre-seed and seed across the impact spectrum: ocean health, responsible AI, food systems and broader planetary resilience. The group publishes no standard ticket size on its official site; the directory thehub.io lists Katapult Ocean investing €50–100K and €100–500K cheques from idea through go-to-market stage in the Nordics.

Notable portfolio

Katapult's calling-card proof points are two "accelerator-bred impact unicorns" announced in a single week, per its own press release: Betterfly, the Chilean employee-benefits and insurance platform first backed at early seed in mid-2019, and Esusu, the rent-reporting and credit-building platform founded by Samir Goel and Abbey Wemimo — both of which reached $1bn valuations. The wider book spans more than 200 companies across the ocean, food, energy and impact-tech verticals. A notable recent event: in September 2025, at Impact Week Singapore, Katapult Ocean and Singapore-based Octave Capital launched the Asia Ocean Fund targeting US$75 million for early-stage ocean-health startups — among the region's first and largest ocean funds, with its first accelerator expected in the first half of 2026.

Programs and perks

The Katapult Accelerator — historically a three-month programme run from Oslo with more than 120 international mentors and hands-on support — is the group's flagship founder programme. The Katapult Foundation runs the Accelerate Program, turning tech founders into impact investors alongside the Nordic Impact Investment Network. For founders, the tangible value is a dense, mission-aligned network of operators, investors and corporates across the impact economy.

How to apply for funding

Katapult's homepage speaks directly to founders: "Working on something that matters? Let's talk. Whether you're a founder, investor, or partner, reach out and we'll point you to the right part of the family." Publicly named leaders include founder Tharald Nustad and Katapult Ocean CEO Jonas Skattum Svegaarden.