Leonardo DiCaprio Backs Swedish Energy Startup Elvy

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-08

Leonardo DiCaprio just invested in a Swedish energy startup that's making home energy smarter and cheaper. And no, this isn't a publicity stunt. ### What Elvy Does and Why It Matters Elvy, based in Stockholm, offers an energy subscription service that helps households cut energy use and save money. They install smart energy systems and software, then optimize everything through an app. Think of it like a fitness tracker for your home's energy—it learns your patterns and adjusts automatically. The company says it can reduce a household's energy consumption by an average of 60%. That's a big deal when you consider that households are Europe's second-largest energy consumers. ### The DiCaprio Investment DiCaprio's investment is part of a €1.43 million second close of Elvy's previously announced funding round. The exact amount he put in wasn't disclosed, but his involvement is a strong signal. This isn't his first rodeo in European energy tech. He backed German solar provider Enpal in 2023. "Leo has supported the energy space for a long time," says Johan Outinen, CEO and co-founder of Elvy. "His involvement is a strong vote of confidence in our potential to help build a better world." DiCaprio added: "Elvy is demonstrating that energy efficiency can be both measurable for homeowners and scalable as a business." ### A Booming Sector Elvy's news comes amid a surge in funding for European energy startups. In 2026 alone, over €160.9 million was invested in companies working on household electrification, building efficiency, and distributed energy management. Some notable rounds: - Axle Energy (London): €21 million to connect distributed energy assets to electricity markets. - Photoncycle (Oslo): €15 million for seasonal solar storage. - GALVANY (Berlin): €10 million to expand heat-pump installation. - Cloover (Berlin): €1.02 billion debt facility and €86.2 million financing facility for residential energy deployment. Elvy itself raised €5.9 million in May 2026 and secured a €500 million credit facility in December 2025. ### The Subscription Model Elvy's approach flips the traditional subsidy model on its head. "Today's subsidies demand the consumer take on the financial burden," Outinen explains. "With our app, consumers can earn money on speeding up the transition. We created our own subsidy program to democratise the energy transition." By combining hardware with optimization software, Elvy turns regular houses into flexible energy assets. And the market is responding: the company saw a tenfold revenue increase in 2025 compared to the previous year. ### What's Next Founded in 2023, Elvy is just getting started. With DiCaprio's backing and a proven model, they're poised to bring integrated energy systems to more homes across Europe. As DiCaprio put it, "The company can reduce a household's energy consumption by an average of 60%, creating potential impact at the household level, while advancing a new model for how energy can be produced, managed and consumed." For homeowners tired of high energy bills, that's a welcome change.