Groundbreak Ventures
GroundBreak Ventures is a Toronto-based property-technology venture capital firm, not a water fund. Founded in 2019 and backed by the Hopewell real-estate group, it is Canada's most active proptech investor, with more than 30 deals across housing and the built environment. As of 2026 my database logs two water-adjacent bets, the clearest being Evercloak.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
GroundBreak Ventures is the rare name on this directory that is not really a water fund at all. It is the most active property-technology investor in Canada, founded in 2019 in the orbit of the Hopewell real-estate group, and it spends its days backing the software, financing, materials and robotics that decide how homes get planned, built and operated. Water is not the thesis here; it is a side effect of caring about buildings.
The one place GroundBreak Ventures and water genuinely meet is Evercloak, a Waterloo, Ontario startup it backed at the seed stage (a company's first institutional cheque) in 2024. Evercloak makes ultra-thin graphene-oxide membranes that pull moisture out of the air, so an air conditioner can cool a room without burning half its energy wringing out humidity. It is a buildings bet first and a water-adjacent one second, which is exactly how a property-technology fund lands on a water list.
For a newcomer, that is the whole story. GroundBreak Ventures is a built-environment specialist, not a water investor, and my Leviathan database rates its water commitment Occasional for good reason. Of the deals tied to it, only the membrane bet clearly sits in water, and even that arrives through the building rather than the pipe. If you are hunting for a dedicated water fund, this is not it; if you want to know who is rebuilding how Canada houses itself, GroundBreak is squarely in the room.
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 GroundBreak Ventures invest in?
- GroundBreak Ventures invests in property technology and housing innovation, from pre-seed to Series A. It backs the software, financing, materials and construction tools that reshape how homes and buildings get planned, built and operated. It is Canada's most active proptech investor, with more than 30 deals; water features only occasionally.
- Is GroundBreak Ventures a water fund?
- No. GroundBreak Ventures is a property-technology and housing-innovation investor, not a water fund. My Leviathan database rates its water commitment Occasional. Its clearest water-adjacent bet is Evercloak, whose membranes dehumidify air to cut cooling energy, a building-efficiency play that happens to touch water.
- Which water company has GroundBreak Ventures backed?
- GroundBreak Ventures' clearest water-adjacent investment is Evercloak, a Waterloo, Ontario startup it backed at seed in 2024. Evercloak makes graphene-oxide membranes that strip humidity from air so air conditioners use far less energy. It sits at the edge of GroundBreak's built-environment mandate rather than at a water thesis.
- Who runs GroundBreak Ventures?
- GroundBreak Ventures is led by Managing Partner Scott Kaplanis, a venture and capital-markets investor with nearly two decades of experience. It was founded by Sanders Lee, who also founded the Hopewell real-estate group that backs it, with Tyler Ashby as a partner focused on built-environment technology.
- Where is GroundBreak Ventures based?
- GroundBreak Ventures is based in Toronto, Canada, and is affiliated with the Calgary-founded Hopewell Group of Companies. From there it invests across Canada in early-stage property technology and housing innovation, with the occasional resource and water-adjacent deal such as Evercloak.