Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN)
Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN) is an Austin-based nonprofit angel network, not a water fund, that connects accredited investors with early-stage startups across every sector. Its water thread is small but real: it has backed two wastewater-treatment companies, Swirltex and Green Steel Environmental. As of June 2026 CTAN has invested over $140 million in 233 companies since 2006.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Central Texas Angel Network is the kind of investor a water founder reaches by accident, not by design. It is a member-led nonprofit angel group in Austin, not a venture fund and not a water specialist, where more than 160 accredited individuals pool their own money, diligence and mentorship into early-stage Texas startups across every sector. As of June 2026 CTAN has put over $140 million into 233 companies since 2006, with members investing roughly $8 million in 2025 alone.
Central Texas Angel Network's water story is a thin but genuine thread, and it is all wastewater. Two of those 233 companies treat dirty water: Swirltex, a Canadian outfit whose buoyancy-and-membrane system cleans waste streams that conventional plants choke on, and Green Steel Environmental, which turns upcycled steel slag into a dry granular product that strips phosphorus out of wastewater and sulfur out of biogas, replacing the toxic liquid chemicals utilities normally dose. In a single 2025 cycle CTAN steered fresh money into both, branding the moment a bet on wastewater and biogas treatment.
Central Texas Angel Network runs on people, not a fund manager's fee. Managing Director Gary Forni, a former Marvell and Intel operator, fronts a volunteer board and a roster of members who write their own cheques and then sit across the table from founders as mentors. To my eye that is the useful thing for a newcomer to grasp: CTAN is a door into Austin's angel community, not a thesis-driven water investor. The water deals are evidence that when a clean-water hardware company is good enough, this generalist crowd will still show up.
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 Central Texas Angel Network invest in?
- Central Texas Angel Network is a generalist angel group, not a sector fund. Its members back early-stage startups across software, hardware, health, climate and consumer, chosen deal by deal rather than to a fixed thesis. Since 2006 it has invested over $140 million in 233 companies, a small share of them in water.
- What water companies has Central Texas Angel Network backed?
- Central Texas Angel Network has backed two wastewater companies. Swirltex uses a buoyancy-based membrane system to treat difficult waste streams at lower energy, and Green Steel Environmental makes a steel-slag product that pulls phosphorus from wastewater and sulfur from biogas. CTAN funded both in a single 2025 wastewater-focused cycle.
- Who runs Central Texas Angel Network?
- Central Texas Angel Network is led by Managing Director Gary Forni, a former Marvell and Intel executive, alongside a volunteer board including Jake Hampton and Alison Dixon. As a member-based nonprofit, CTAN is ultimately run by its 160-plus accredited investor members, who source, diligence and decide on deals themselves.
- Where is Central Texas Angel Network based?
- Central Texas Angel Network is based in Austin, Texas, and focuses on startups from Texas and beyond. It is one of the largest and most active angel groups in the United States, with more than 160 member investors and a portfolio it values at over $600 million as of June 2026.
- Is Central Texas Angel Network a water-focused fund?
- No. Central Texas Angel Network is a generalist nonprofit angel network, not a water fund or a sector-specific venture firm. Water is one small thread inside a 233-company portfolio. Its two wastewater investments, Swirltex and Green Steel Environmental, reflect individual member conviction rather than any dedicated water mandate.