The investor panel recording on the water innovations (Jan.26, 2024). Thanks to all the panelists for the great conversation and the chat record is here.
A suggestion from Paul Burgon, Exit Ventures – (he has a background in running the North American division of a public European water tech company and also being on their board)
My observations: I agree with your investment opportunities points. One clarification I would add: startups should not focus on customers in the municipal water sector, it is a complete mismatch. Municipal water operators are extremely risk averse and they won’t be interested in a startup’s new technology until it has seen years of use and testing, unless the municipality is almost desperate. They are very rarely desperate. So, startups should focus on industrial water testing and reclamation rather than municipal. The industrial segment will be much more open to trying newer technologies with a strong ROI and so startups can be much more successful in the industrial segment.
Context: In this downturn, VC investment amount in water tech is growing strong, since it’s underinvested in past years.
Highlights on water deals from Crunchbase: (published on Feb. 12, 2024)
Total funding to water industry categories in 2023 was higher than in 2021. And this year is also off to a strong start. The annual investment since 2019 to companies in the water, water purification, and water transportation categories is charted below.
