Ferguson Ventures
Ferguson Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Ferguson, North America's largest plumbing and waterworks distributor. Launched in 2018, it backs built-world technology across construction, property and water, pairing each cheque with access to Ferguson's distribution network. As of 2026 it has backed 3 water companies across 3 deals.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Ferguson Ventures is the venture arm of a distributor, and that is the whole point. Ferguson sells more plumbing, waterworks and pipe than anyone in North America, so when it began writing venture cheques in 2018 it was investing in the technology that flows through its own warehouses and contractor accounts. The thesis is built-world technology, with water as a natural home field, not a charity line in the deck.
Ferguson Ventures is a corporate venture capital arm, or CVC, which plays a different game than a purely financial fund. A normal fund's limited partners, the LPs who supply the money, want a return; Ferguson wants the return and the commercial edge, so its pitch to founders is the distribution network behind the cheque. Capital is the start of the relationship, not the end of it, which is why it will lead a round and then open doors to contractors and utilities most startups cannot reach on their own.
Ferguson Ventures has backed three water companies and led two of those rounds. It led Greyter Water Systems, which makes compact greywater reuse units for homes and buildings, and VODA.ai, whose models predict which buried water pipes will fail next; more recently it joined CivilGrid, a mapping platform for underground utilities. It also co-invests alongside the water-only fund Burnt Island Ventures, and in February 2025 it became a strategic investor in PERENfra's Perennial Infrastructure Fund I, a $125 million vehicle built only for water infrastructure.
Ferguson Ventures is a strategic investor, not a pure-play water fund, and for a newcomer that is the read. If you are a water-tech founder who needs a route to North American contractors and utilities, Ferguson is one of the few cheques that arrives with the channel attached; if you want a fund that does nothing but water, this is a built-world investor that treats water as core rather than a specialist built around it. With a two-person team writing selectively, it is a door worth knocking on, not a volume backer.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 3 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Ferguson Ventures invest in?
- Ferguson Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Ferguson, the North American distribution giant, and it backs built-world technology across construction, property and water. It invests strategically rather than purely financially, pairing capital with access to Ferguson's distribution network, and its water bets span pipe-failure prediction, greywater reuse and underground-utility mapping.
- Who runs Ferguson Ventures?
- Ferguson Ventures is led by Blake Luse, its Managing Director and founding member, who built the arm's strategy and investment thesis after joining Ferguson in 2005. He works alongside Portfolio Manager Andrea Chico, who sources and evaluates companies. The team is small and invests selectively from Ferguson's Newport News, Virginia base.
- Where is Ferguson Ventures based?
- Ferguson Ventures is based in Newport News, Virginia, the headquarters of its parent company Ferguson, North America's largest distributor of plumbing and waterworks products. The venture arm taps that nationwide distribution network as its main value-add, giving portfolio companies a route to contractors and utilities across the United States and Canada.
- Is Ferguson Ventures the same as Burnt Island Ventures?
- No. Ferguson Ventures is the venture arm of Ferguson, the plumbing and waterworks distributor based in Newport News, Virginia. Burnt Island Ventures is a separate water-only fund founded by Tom Ferguson, no relation to the company. The two are linked in practice: Ferguson Ventures co-invests alongside Burnt Island in water-technology rounds.
- How many water companies has Ferguson Ventures backed?
- Ferguson Ventures has backed three water companies across three deals, leading two of them: Greyter Water Systems in greywater reuse, VODA.ai in water-pipe failure prediction, and CivilGrid in underground-utility mapping. (don't) Waste Water rates its water commitment Committed, reflecting a steady strategic presence rather than a high-volume water portfolio.