Newsletter - February 2026

Welcome to the 24th edition of the AFI Ventures’ newsletter.

As a reminder, AFI Ventures (fund managed by Ventech) is an impact VC fund that invests in pre-seed/seed startups with a strong environmental and social ambition, producing a systemic change. We invest once a month in France & Europe tickets ranging from €250K to €500K.

Each month in this newsletter, you’ll find:

1. 🔍 A focus or key resources on an impact-related theme

2. 📰 Our Top must-read articles on the impact ecosystem

3. 🌱 Even more news from the AFI: public fundraisings, portfolio updates, and (new) where we’ve been spotted (at events) & where you can catch us next, plus a job board featuring open roles at our amazing startups.

More insights, more opportunities, more ways to connect. Let’s dive in! 💚

🔍 Focus on… Building more resilient and low-carbon data centers

Last month, together with RAISE Sherpas, we hosted a roundtable dedicated to one of the most structural challenges behind the AI boom: how to actually decarbonize compute infrastructure.

Beyond the hype around efficiency gains, discussions quickly converged toward a the reality that data centers are not a single problem but a system of coupled constraints: energy availability, thermal limits, hardware architecture, and operational orchestration.

Here are a few takeaways from our deep dive across the value chain:

⚡ Energy & grid: decarbonization is first a location problem

• The carbon intensity of electricity remains the largest driver of lifecycle emissions : geography can outweigh most technological optimizations.

• Power availability, not compute demand, is becoming the primary constraint for new data center projects in Europe.

• Future facilities will increasingly co-locate with generation or flexibility assets rather than simply connect to the grid.

🌡 Cooling & thermal systems: air cooling is hitting a wall

• Rack density is rapidly surpassing the physical limits of air cooling, making liquid cooling a necessity, not an upgrade.

• Cooling already represents a major share of energy use and will grow as chips specialize for AI workloads.

• The next challenge is operational: maintenance, reliability standards, insurance frameworks, and integration into existing facilities.

🧠 Monitoring & orchestration: the invisible efficiency layer

• Significant energy waste comes from under-utilized compute rather than inefficient hardware.

• Software orchestration (workload placement, dynamic scheduling, predictive maintenance) can unlock large efficiency gains without new infrastructure.

• The frontier shifts from hardware optimization to system-level optimization.

🖥 Hardware & compute efficiency: specialization beats generalization

• AI accelerators improve performance per watt but also increase thermal density, shifting problems rather than removing them.

• Future gains will come from workload-specific architectures and memory optimization, not just smaller nodes.

• Efficiency at chip level must be evaluated at rack and facility level to avoid rebound effects.

Below is a snapshot of the ecosystem shaping the next generation of low-carbon compute infrastructure.

📥 If you’re an entrepreneur and want to start a project, please send us an email at dealflow@afi.ventures.

📰 Top must-read articles — What Caught Our Eyes This Month

Climate Change

France has unveiled its 2025–2030 national strategy for food and climate (SNANC), aiming to align agricultural production, dietary shifts, and emissions reduction—highlighting the growing role of food systems in national decarbonisation pathways, said le Ministère de l’Agriculture.

A new IPBES assessment warns that biodiversity loss is accelerating across regions and sectors, stressing that ecosystem degradation directly threatens food security, water systems, and economic stability, said IPBES.

France’s upcoming multi-year energy plan (PPE) will define the country’s electricity mix for the next decade, arbitrating between nuclear expansion and renewables scale-up—an essential signal for investors in energy infrastructure and industrial decarbonisation, said La Tribune.

Venture capitalists are expected to continue pivoting away from climate in 2026, reflecting longer liquidity cycles and capital intensity concerns despite structural decarbonisation needs, said The Wall Street Journal.

MIT Technology Review’s “10 Breakthrough Technologies 2026” highlights advances spanning carbon removal, agricultural biotech, and robotics—illustrating how deep tech innovation is increasingly intertwined with climate resilience, said MIT Technology Review.

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Sustainable production and consumption

Sodium-ion batteries are gaining traction as a lower-cost, less resource-constrained alternative to lithium-ion, potentially reshaping automotive and stationary storage markets as industrialisation accelerates, said RTBF.

Research from École Polytechnique is advancing understanding of material mechanics under extreme conditions, paving the way for next-generation high-performance materials in energy, aerospace, and industrial applications, said École Polytechnique.

Sam Altman dismissed proposals for space-based data centers as impractical, reflecting broader debates about the physical limits, energy intensity, and infrastructure demands of AI compute expansion, said TechRadar.

AI-powered micro–data centers are being deployed next to farms to reuse waste heat for greenhouse cultivation, turning compute workloads into agricultural productivity and illustrating emerging circular infrastructure models between digital and food production, said Les Echos.

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Health & Social Changes

The New York Times reports growing scrutiny around direct-to-consumer drug advertising in the U.S., as regulators and health experts debate its influence on prescribing behaviour and patient expectations, said The New York Times.

After years of delay, the French government has launched a national infertility plan, including preventive outreach measures targeting young adults—signalling a shift toward proactive reproductive health policy, said Le Monde.

A new human clinical study is exploring plant-based compounds as potential complements to GLP-1 therapies, reflecting widening innovation around metabolic health beyond blockbuster obesity drugs, said AgFunder News.

France’s digital health sector is proving resilient despite tighter financial conditions, though funding slowdowns are testing business models and consolidation dynamics across the ecosystem, said Les Echos.

🍃 AFI Ventures Highlights

Recent News from our Portfolio

Verley secures a $38M oversubscribed Series A to industrialise precision-fermented whey proteins. Following regulatory progress and growing commercial demand, the funding will support U.S. market entry, production ramp-up, and performance optimisation of next-generation functional protein ingredients. Learn more

Dionymer raises €7M to scale its biowaste-to-polymer technology and build a 100-ton/year demonstration plant. By producing biodegradable polymers via bacterial fermentation, the company moves toward replacing petrochemical ingredients across cosmetics, textiles, and plastics industries. Learn more

Co-reactive has been selected for the EIC Accelerator, a strong validation of its technology turning captured CO₂ and industrial byproducts into carbon-negative construction materials. This support will help accelerate industrial scale-up and deepen partnerships across the construction value chain—bringing CO₂-based materials closer to commercial reality. Learn more

DiappyMed partners with myDiabby Healthcare to strengthen remote diabetes monitoring and daily patient support. By combining digital engagement with medical telemonitoring infrastructure, the collaboration aims to improve care continuity between consultations and ease the burden on both patients and clinicians. Learn more

Paladin teams up with May to integrate parental support into workplace health prevention. Through access to healthcare professionals and structured guidance during pregnancy and early parenthood, the partnership helps employers better support employees during key life transitions while reducing psychosocial risks. Learn more

Jinko launches a new care program with the PACA Regional Health Agency and Institut Paoli-Calmettes to improve coordination and supportive care for breast cancer patients. The initiative extends follow-up beyond hospital treatment, ensuring continuity between hospital and community care over a six-month pathway. Learn more

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Talent Wanted: Our Startups Are Building the Future

💼 New format!
Here is the Notion view giving you a clear overview of all open positions across our portfolio.

Special mentions to Stokelp, Paladin, Blify and Faircraft currently on a strong hiring ramp with multiple roles open. More than 50 open roles this month!

👉Accessible here

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the teams to unlock great opportunities.

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Events

We were at:

• Tech&Fest – February 4–5, 2026, Grenoble 🏔️
  A flagship innovation festival bringing together startups, corporates, researchers, and public actors around frontier technologies. Sarah was there meeting founders and catching up with ecosystem partners across deeptech and climate.

• World Impact Summit – February 5–6, 2026, Paris 🌍
  One of Europe’s leading gatherings dedicated to concrete climate solutions. Axel joined impact-driven founders and investors to discuss scaling challenges and deployment pathways.

• AI Day – February 10, 2026, Paris 🤖
  A full day focused on applied AI and real-world use cases. Axel and Constantin were there.

• AFI Ventures × RAISE Sherpas: Data Center Cooling Roundtable – February 19, 2026, Paris ❄️
  We hosted a discussion on data center decarbonization and the shift toward liquid cooling. The conversation explored energy intensity, infrastructure constraints, and the operational realities (TCO, maintenance, and insurance) that will ultimately determine adoption.

  

• X-UP Batch 19 Presentation – February 19, École Polytechnique 🎓
  Axel attended the presentation of the new startup cohort at X-UP, discovering the latest projects emerging from the Polytechnique entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Where to meet the AFI Ventures team next month:

• JEC Investor Day – March 11, 2026, Paris 🧪
  A dedicated day connecting investors with advanced materials and industrial innovation startups. Constantin will be there exploring next-generation materials and manufacturing technologies.

• Occitanie Invest – March 19, 2026, Toulouse 🚀
  A major regional venture forum bringing together startups and investors across deeptech and industry. Constantin will attend.

• Techinnov – March 24, 2026, Paris 🤝
  One of France’s key business meetings for innovation partnerships between startups and corporates. Axel will be there meeting early-stage founders.

• Changenow – March 30, 2026, Paris

  Event where Impact and Tech come together. Sarah will be one of the Circular Economy jury members, so don’t hesitate to reach out to her.

🗣️ Feel free to reach out if you’d like to connect onsite!

🤝 Our Team

• Charles Fourault - charles@afi.ventures

• Constantin de Chaudenay - constantin@afi.ventures

• Sarah Laznowski - sarah@afi.ventures

• Axel Chaumel - axel@afi.ventures

Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re an impact entrepreneur or just interested in any of these topics. 🍃