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Katapult Ocean
Katapult Ocean, founded by Tharald Nustad in 2017, is an early-stage venture firm investing in the sustainable ocean economy across six continents.
Katapult Ocean
Tharald Nustad, a Norwegian serial entrepreneur, founded Katapult Ocean in 2017 as the second vertical fund under the Katapult Group umbrella. The firm operates from dual hubs in Oslo and Vancouver, positioning itself at the intersection of Nordic maritime heritage and North American tech markets. Its mandate targets the sustainable ocean economy, a thematic focus that few dedicated venture vehicles pursued before 2020. The Katapult Group ecosystem also includes Katapult Climate and the Katapult Accelerator, providing a pipeline of early-stage impact companies. Katapult Ocean invests at the seed and early stage, typically as the lead institutional investor, with a strategy that spans aquaculture innovation, maritime decarbonization, ocean data platforms, and offshore renewable energy. Its portfolio concentrates on companies that combine hard science with scalable business models — sensor networks, alternative seafood proteins, and autonomous surface vessels. Confirmed positions include Sea Machines, a Boston-based developer of autonomous marine navigation systems, and Blue Ocean Gear, which produces smart buoy technology for sustainable fisheries. The fund co-invests alongside specialist climate VCs and corporate venture arms from the shipping and energy sectors. Its geographic footprint covers startups operating across the Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia, and East Africa. The firm runs an accelerator program alongside its investment vehicle, a structure that blends traditional venture capital with hands-on impact development. In May 2024, Katapult Ocean opened applications for its 2025 Ocean Accelerator cohort, signaling continued conviction in very early-stage blue-economy founders (per the firm, May 2024). This dual-track approach gives the firm access to companies at two distinct points of maturity — a differentiator in impact venture, where most managers stay locked into one stage. The accelerator, combined with Katapult's proprietary founder community, acts as both a sourcing funnel and a portfolio support network. Katapult Ocean sits inside a larger impact ecosystem — the Katapult Group — which originated with a broader focus on positive-impact technology. This federated structure allows the ocean fund to maintain dedicated sector specialization while sharing back-office resources and a common LP base with the climate fund. For allocators, the vehicle offers concentrated exposure to a sub-theme most generalist climate funds only touch incidentally, operated by a team with near-exclusive focus on ocean sustainability.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2017
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
Norway
City
Oslo
Corporate office
Oslo, Norway
Additional offices
Vancouver, Canada · Kanata, Canada
Principals
Tharald Nustad
Founder
Jonas Skattum Svegaarden
CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does Katapult Ocean source its deal flow?
Katapult Ocean sources through its own accelerator program, which brings in cohorts of pre-seed and seed-stage ocean-tech startups annually, and through a proprietary network of research institutions, maritime corporates, and impact investor co-investors. The accelerator acts as a direct pipeline, with graduates receiving follow-on investment consideration. This model gives the firm visibility into companies at formation stage before many institutional VCs enter.
Is Katapult Ocean a pure venture fund, or does it include an accelerator?
Katapult Ocean operates both a dedicated venture fund and an ocean-focused accelerator program. The accelerator provides early-stage companies with capital, mentorship, and access to the firm's network of maritime and ocean-science partners. The fund invests at seed and early-stage, often as the lead institutional investor, with the accelerator serving as a sourcing pipeline and portfolio support mechanism.
What investment stages does Katapult Ocean target?
Katapult Ocean targets seed and early-stage companies. It typically acts as a lead institutional investor and focuses on pre-revenue to early-commercialization phases where hard-tech ocean solutions require patient capital before reaching scalability. The accelerator arm feeds pre-seed and seed companies into the broader Katapult ecosystem.
Which sectors does Katapult Ocean specifically focus on within the blue economy?
Katapult Ocean invests across aquaculture technology, maritime decarbonization, ocean data and sensor platforms, offshore renewable energy, and alternative seafood. Its portfolio includes companies working on autonomous marine navigation, smart fishing gear, ocean carbon removal, and sustainable aquaculture feed, avoiding pure-play consumer apps or land-based climate solutions.
How is Katapult Ocean related to the broader Katapult Group?
Katapult Ocean is one vertical fund within the Katapult Group, which includes Katapult Climate and the original Katapult Accelerator. The group, founded by Tharald Nustad, shares a common impact-investing philosophy and back-office infrastructure across its verticals, but each fund maintains dedicated investment teams and sector focus.
Does Katapult Ocean co-invest with external partners?
Yes, Katapult Ocean regularly co-invests alongside specialist climate and ocean VCs, corporate venture arms from the shipping and energy sectors, and mission-aligned family offices. Its position as a dedicated ocean fund makes it a natural syndication partner for generalist impact funds seeking blue-economy exposure without internal domain expertise.
Who makes investment decisions at Katapult Ocean?
Founder Tharald Nustad and CEO Jonas Skattum Svegaarden lead the firm's investment strategy, supported by a dedicated ocean-sector investment team split between its Oslo headquarters and Vancouver office. Nustad brings experience from founding the broader Katapult Group, while Svegaarden's operational leadership guides day-to-day fund decisions.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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