Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners is a generalist San Francisco venture-capital firm, founded in 1911, that invests in water only occasionally. Its water footprint runs through two companies: Bevi, which makes smart water dispensers, and Claroty, which protects water utilities from cyberattacks. As of 2026 it has backed two water companies across two deals.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Bessemer Venture Partners is not a water fund, and its name is the first clue why. It traces back to 1911, when Henry Phipps, a partner of Andrew Carnegie in Carnegie Steel, set up a family office and named it after the Bessemer process that made their steel fortune. More than a century later it is one of the oldest venture firms in the United States, managing about $20 billion across enterprise, consumer and healthcare software, with bets like Shopify, Twilio, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Water is a footnote on that platform, which is exactly why its rare water bets are worth a close read.
Bessemer's tracked water exposure runs through two companies, and neither is a water-treatment startup. Bevi makes internet-connected dispensers that filter tap water into still, sparkling and flavoured drinks, replacing the office cooler and the plastic bottle; Bessemer led its Series C in 2019, with Boston partner Kent Bennett taking a board seat. Claroty, the other, is an industrial-cybersecurity company that defends cyber-physical systems, water utilities among them, from attack; David Cowan launched Bessemer's security practice and backed Claroty out of stealth in 2016.
Bessemer reaches water the way a generalist tech investor does: sideways, through categories it already knows. One bet treats water as a connected hardware-and-software story, the other as critical infrastructure to be defended, and neither is the membrane-and-pump engineering a dedicated water fund chases. For a newcomer the honest read is that Bessemer's two water names are a tech investor's water, not a water specialist's, and that is the real shape of its commitment today.
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 · 2 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Bessemer Venture Partners invest in?
- Bessemer Venture Partners is a generalist venture-capital firm that backs enterprise, consumer and healthcare software companies worldwide, from seed to growth stage. Famous bets include Shopify, Twilio, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Within that broad mandate it makes only occasional water investments, currently two: the smart-dispenser maker Bevi and the infrastructure-security firm Claroty.
- Is Bessemer Venture Partners a water fund?
- No. Bessemer Venture Partners is one of the oldest generalist venture firms in the United States, managing about $20 billion, not a dedicated water fund. It appears in water coverage because of two tracked bets, Bevi and Claroty. Specialist water funds invest across dozens of water companies; Bessemer backs a couple.
- What water companies has Bessemer Venture Partners backed?
- Bessemer Venture Partners has backed two water-related companies in our database. Bevi builds internet-connected dispensers that filter and flavour tap water, and Bessemer led its 2019 Series C. Claroty is an industrial-cybersecurity firm that protects water utilities and other critical infrastructure from cyberattacks; Bessemer backed it out of stealth in 2016.
- Who runs Bessemer Venture Partners?
- Bessemer Venture Partners is a partnership rather than one founder's firm, with investing partners across San Francisco, New York, Boston, London, Bangalore and Tel Aviv. Its two water-relevant deals sit with partners Kent Bennett, who joined Bevi's board, and David Cowan, who launched the firm's cybersecurity practice and backs Claroty.
- Is Bessemer Venture Partners the same as Bessemer Trust?
- No. Bessemer Venture Partners is a venture-capital firm, while Bessemer Trust is a separate wealth-management business; both trace to Henry Phipps's 1911 family office but operate independently today. Bessemer Investors, a growth-equity firm, is also distinct. The water bets discussed here belong to Bessemer Venture Partners.