American Century Private Investments
American Century Private Investments is the impact venture-capital arm of American Century Investments, the Kansas City asset manager. Run from Portland, Oregon by the former 3x5 Partners team, it backs healthcare and environmental startups. As of 2026 my Leviathan database logs one water bet across two rounds: PFAS-cleanup company Claros Technologies.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
American Century Private Investments is the part of a big asset manager that writes private cheques, and its water story is really the story of a small Portland impact fund that got adopted. The investing team is the former 3x5 Partners, an Oregon venture firm founded in 2011 around a plain list of human needs (energy, food, water, shelter, health, sanitation) that American Century, a roughly $300 billion manager, bought outright in September 2023 to push into private markets.
American Century Private Investments splits its hunting ground in two: healthcare (medical devices, diagnostics, drug delivery) and the environment, where water sits alongside clean energy, green chemistry, agriculture and waste. Water is one line in a broader impact thesis, not the whole show, which is why my Leviathan database rates its water commitment Occasional rather than core. The team still carries decades each of putting money behind science that has to work in a treatment plant, not just in a pitch deck.
The clearest place American Century Private Investments touches water is Claros Technologies, a Minnesota company going after PFAS, the 'forever chemicals' that refuse to break down in water or in people. Claros both measures and destroys those compounds, pairing a UV-photochemical system with engineered sorbent materials, and American Century has backed it across two rounds, the most recent in 2025. It is a chemistry-and-materials bet that lands squarely in water, exactly the kind of problem the old 3x5 list was built to chase.
For a newcomer, American Century Private Investments is best read as deep pockets attached to a focused impact team: the distribution and balance sheet of a major asset manager, pointed at startups by investors who have spent careers in health and climate. If you want a dedicated water fund, this is not it, since water is one thread in a wider weave, but when American Century does write a water cheque it comes with institutional staying power behind it.
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 · 1 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does American Century Private Investments invest in?
- American Century Private Investments is an impact venture-capital investor backing two areas: healthcare (medical devices, diagnostics, drug delivery, life-science tools) and the environment (clean energy, water, green chemistry, agriculture and waste reduction). It looks for science-based startups that solve real human and environmental problems while aiming for venture returns.
- Is American Century Private Investments a water fund?
- No. American Century Private Investments is a broad impact venture-capital arm of American Century Investments, and water is just one sector inside its environmental thesis. My Leviathan database rates its water commitment Occasional, logging one water company, Claros Technologies, across two rounds rather than a dedicated water portfolio.
- Which water company has American Century Private Investments backed?
- American Century Private Investments' clearest water bet is Claros Technologies, a Minnesota startup tackling PFAS, the 'forever chemicals' that linger in water supplies. Claros measures and destroys those compounds using a UV-photochemical system and engineered sorbents. American Century has backed it across two rounds, the most recent recorded in 2025.
- Who runs American Century Private Investments?
- American Century Private Investments is led by three Managing Partners, Nicholas Walrod, Anthony Arnerich and Joe Biller, who previously ran the Portland impact firm 3x5 Partners and report to American Century chief investment officer Victor Zhang. The team brings roughly two decades each of healthcare and climate investing experience.
- Where is American Century Private Investments based?
- American Century Private Investments operates out of Portland, Oregon, the home of its predecessor firm 3x5 Partners. Its parent, American Century Investments, is a Kansas City, Missouri asset manager whose dividends help fund the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. The private-investing team joined American Century in September 2023.