Season 10

Veolia, the world’s largest water company, builds its artificial-intelligence strategy on Hubgrade, the digital platform that anchors its AI and machine-learning work. Veolia’s digital team applies large language models (LLMs) across a catalog of 10 digital products, pairing operator expertise with software instead of replacing the human in the plant.

Their ambition? To turn tens of thousands of cooling towers (and countless more assets) into data goldmines and push the envelope on how the world perceives water technology. Let’s explore it:

with 🎙️ Andrew Collier – Digital Solutions Executive at the Veolia Water Tech Zone

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Kando’s STREAMi is a conversational AI assistant that turns a utility’s raw wastewater-sensor data into plain answers for executives and pretreatment managers, flagging pollution sources and network health on request. Founded in 2012, the Israeli company behind it has raised US$30.0M across four disclosed rounds, most recently US$10.0M in 2024.

But STREAMi isn’t just another tech novelty—it’s a solution grounded in practical necessity and designed for real-world application. How? Let’s figure out:

with 🎙️ Ori Reshef – Chief Solutions Officer at Kando

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Kemira builds a renewable, bio-based chemistry business inside a water-treatment portfolio that already generates an estimated US$1.4 billion in annual water revenue, replacing fossil-based coagulants and flocculants with plant-derived alternatives. The Finnish supplier, founded in 1920 and listed on Nasdaq Helsinki, is creating customer demand that no regulation yet requires.

Intrigued? Let’s dive deeper into her vision.

with 🎙️ Riikka Timonen – VP New Markets & Biomaterials at Kemira

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Grundfos, the Danish pump manufacturer founded in 1945, is rebuilding itself into a water-technology group through acquisition, closing 17 water-sector deals since 2001. Its 2023 purchase of Metasphere for US$92 million added internet-of-things telemetry for utility networks, the digital core of a company that now sells water and climate solutions across municipal and industrial markets.

with 🎙️ Laura Gallindo – Global Director Strategic Marketing & Communications at Grundfos

with 🎙️ Phillip Tomlinson – Digital Solutions Leader at Grundfos

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SUDOC has raised US$16 million across two rounds to commercialize a bio-inspired tetra-amido macrocyclic ligand (TAML) catalyst that drops into existing oxidation systems and degrades pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and dyes in water. The founder-led startup, backed by Momentum Capital and PureTerra Ventures, doses the iron-based catalyst at parts-per-billion levels, so plants treat micropollutants without new hardware.

Imagine a product that makes water treatment more efficient, reduces harmful chemical use in everyday cleaning products, and cuts energy consumption by 90%: does it sound too good to be true? Well, this is what SUDOC is making happen. Wanna learn more? Let’s explore:

with 🎙️ Roger Berry – Co-Founder & CEO at SUDOC

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VAPAR uses deep learning over in-pipe CCTV footage to flag wastewater-network defects automatically, replacing the manual frame-by-frame review that pipe inspection has always demanded. The Australian company, founded in 2018, raised a US$3.3M Series A led by PureTerra Ventures in 2024 to scale that AI across utilities moving from reactive to proactive repair.

That’s the kind of trouble, VAPAR aims to fight, by leveraging the power of Machine Learning and sound commitment! How? Let’s find out:

with 🎙️ Amanda Siqueira – Co-Founder & CEO of VAPAR

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Hydraloop turned its Best of CES 2020 award into a funded category, raising an $11.4M Series B in 2024 led by Invest-NL after a $4.2M round in 2022. The Dutch maker, founded in 2015, builds compact greywater recyclers that cut household mains-water use by up to 45 percent.

with 🎙️ Sabine Stuiver – CMO & Co-Founder at Hydraloop

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When we think of world-changing entrepreneurs, names like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or Bill Gates often come to mind. But there’s another one that deserves a spot on that list: Gary White. Along with his co-founder, the Hollywood superstar Matt Damon, Gary is transforming lives by addressing one of the most pressing global issues – access to clean water and sanitation.

Surprisingly, the engine driving this transformation is not an international governmental organization but a remarkably effective charity. Let’s explore the inspiring story of how Gary White’s innovative approach is reshaping the water crisis landscape:

with 🎙️ Gary White – Co-Founder & CEO of Water.org & Water Equity

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Adionics raised a 27 million dollar Series B led by lithium producer SQM in 2023, taking a bold stand in direct lithium extraction (DLE). The French company, founded in 2009, has now drawn 31.6 million dollars across two rounds to industrialize its closed-loop solvent process and compete against the crowded field of DLE developers.

Wanna learn more? Let’s dive into it:

with 🎙️ Gabriel Toffani – CEO at Adionics

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Desalination has always been synonymous with high energy consumption and significant operational costs, but what if there was a way to make it more efficient and sustainable? Enter Ionic Solutions, a company that aims to revolutionize the desalination industry with its cutting-edge technology.

Let’s explore it:

with 🎙️ Jordan Grose – Vice-President of Commercialization at Ionic Solutions

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Water stewardship is a buzzword that’s often thrown around in corporate boardrooms and environmental conferences, but what does it truly mean? And more importantly, how do we ensure that companies’ commitments to water sustainability are not just empty promises? Let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of water stewardship, the necessity of standards, and how to measure real impact:

with 🎙️ Lauren Enright – Program Manager Water Services @ SCS Global Services

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120Water runs a cloud-based water-compliance platform and has raised US$57.5M across four rounds since 2019, capped by a US$43M 2024 round led by Edison Partners. The U.S. company started in 2016 as a consumer lead-testing kit, and now sells software, sampling logistics, and managed services to utilities running lead and PFAS compliance programs.

This incredible journey is a testament to strategic pivots, innovative solutions, and a relentless focus on customer needs, let’s explore it:

with 🎙️ Megan Glover, CEO & Co-Founder at 120Water

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Salinity Solutions recovers up to 98% of feed water at half the energy of conventional multi-stage reverse osmosis (RO), running the membranes as a semi-batch cycle on streams from near-zero to 50,000 mg/L salinity. The UK startup raised a $2.4M Series A in 2024, led by SQM Lithium Ventures, to commercialize its HyBatch system.

with 🎙️ Tim Naughton – CTO and Founder of Salinity Solutions

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Oxyle raised a US$16.0M Series A in 2025 to scale reactors that chemically destroy PFAS down to parts-per-trillion levels, the kind of PFAS destruction that breaks forever chemicals apart instead of trapping them in filters that just shift the waste elsewhere. The Swiss company, founded in 2020, has pulled in US$19.0M total to commercialize catalytic destruction for industrial and municipal water.

Let’s explore it:

with 🎙️ Fajer Mushtaq – CEO & Co-Founder at Oxyle

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Swirltex treats difficult industrial wastewater with a buoyancy-enhanced ultrafiltration membrane that injects air to spin contaminants off the membrane wall, recovering 80 to 95 percent of the water while cutting energy 40 to 60 percent versus conventional separation. The Edmonton company has raised US$2.2M across two rounds, led by Sustainable Development Technology Canada.

with 🎙️ Peter Christou – President & Founder at Swirltex

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SimpleLab abandoned arsenic removal and rebuilt itself around Tap Score, a mail-order water testing service that ships kits to homes, routes the samples to accredited laboratories, and returns plain-language reports. The pivot chased residential demand that labs ignored, on the strength of a 2020 seed round led by Craft Ventures as the model scaled across the United States.

with 🎙️ Johnny Pujol – CEO & Co-Founder of SimpleLab & TapScore

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Aqua Membranes prints a patented three-dimensional polymer spacer directly onto reverse osmosis (RO) membrane sheets, replacing conventional mesh feed spacers to fit 505 square feet of membrane into an 8-inch element versus roughly 440. The U.S. company has raised US$7.0M across its three disclosed rounds, with later Series B capital led by Burnt Island Ventures and Osmoflo.

Let’s explore it:

with 🎙️ Craig Beckman – CEO at Aqua Membranes

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Aclarity destroys PFAS in water with an electrochemical oxidation reactor that breaks the carbon-fluorine bond, taking landfill leachate from parts-per-billion contamination to non-detect in a single pass. The Massachusetts company, founded in 2017, raised US$20.2M across three rounds, capped by a US$15.9M Series A in 2023.

No wonder I wanted to get my insights straight from her, hence let’s explore PFAS destruction:

with 🎙️ Julie Bliss Mullen – CEO & Founder at Aclarity

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Gradiant grew from a 2013 MIT spinout into water tech’s only unicorn by raising US$225M in 2023 Series D financing, the capstone of US$329.8M in confirmed venture rounds, and acquiring 8 industrial-water companies to enter markets it could not reach organically. Schlumberger New Energy and Warburg Pincus led its earlier Series C.

Since I wrote this, Gradiant doubled to a $2 billion valuation and started talking IPO out loud, so I followed the question all the way to Madrid in 600 private water bets, zero public exits, and will Gradiant finally IPO?

with 🎙️ Prakash Govindan – Co-Founder and COO of Gradiant

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Venture capital (VC) has been the lifeblood of innovation across many sectors, propelling startups from garage projects to global giants. Yet, in the nuanced and critical sector of water and water technology, VC’s role is both celebrated and scrutinized. We’ve often covered here the VC’s point of view, let’s look at the other side of the coin today:

with 🎙️ Brian Iversen – Founder & Managing Partner @ Cimbria Capital

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In today’s rapidly changing environment, water resilience has emerged as a critical aspect of sustainable development and disaster preparedness. The frequency of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and droughts underscores the importance of ensuring that water utilities can withstand and quickly recover from such events. This imperative is not just about managing a precious resource but also about safeguarding public health, supporting economies, and protecting ecosystems.

Against this backdrop, Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, stands out as a beacon of innovation and resilience. With a comprehensive approach to water resource management, Mekorot ensures the continuous supply of safe, high-quality water, even in the face of adversity.

The company’s efforts align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG6, which aims for the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, and SDG11, which focuses on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

Mekorot’s success story is not just about its technological prowess but also about its commitment to resilience, sustainability, and global cooperation, let’s explore it:

with 🎙️ Yossi Yaacoby – Vice-President of Engineering at Mekorot

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In “Water For All” David Sedlak offers a compelling exploration of the multifaceted water crises facing our world today. At a time when pessimism could easily take hold, Sedlak encourages a different view—one of optimism and innovative problem-solving.

Through a detailed examination of past and present water crises, he provides a roadmap for overcoming the challenges posed by water scarcity, pollution, and climate change. As I wanted to dive deeper into Sedlak’s insights, focusing on how small-scale solutions could be the key to securing water for all in a rapidly changing world, I sat down with him on the mic. Here’s the result:

with 🎙️ David Sedlak – Professor at UC Berkeley & Author of Water 4.0 and Water for All

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In the wake of MrBeast’s impactful 100 Wells initiative, the spotlight has turned towards the critical issue of water development in rural areas, especially within the challenging landscapes of sub-Saharan Africa. While such high-profile projects ignite conversations and inspire action, understanding the complexities of providing clean, sustainable water supplies demands a deeper dive.

Enter experts like Sean Furey and Kerstin Danert, whose experiences and insights offer invaluable lessons in navigating the multifaceted challenges of rural water supply. let’s explore the essential do’s and don’ts in the realm of water development, paving the way for more effective and lasting solutions.

with 🎙️ Kerstin Danert – Founder & Director @ Ask for Water

with 🎙️ Sean Furey – Director @ Rural Water Supply Network

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Burnt Island Ventures is a water-only venture capital fund that has backed 34 water-tech companies across 48 funding rounds since 2019, managing about $50 million. Founder Tom Ferguson invests exclusively in water, betting that good companies with growing revenue and healthy margins earn an exit no matter which sector they are built in.

All that early-stage money has to exit somewhere eventually, and right now it mostly does not, so I followed the whole capital chain to its missing last step in 600 private water bets, zero public exits.

In 2022, Tom Ferguson closed Burnt Island Venture’s first fund, with the thesis to find, fund and support the best water entrepreneurs. Did he succeed in these endeavors? Why? What’s the secret sauce? What can you replicate in your investing or entrepreneurship path?

Let’s explore:

with 🎙️ Tom Ferguson – Founder & Managing Partner @ Burnt Island Ventures

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Let me write that sentence I hate: water is essential for life. But beyond hydration, what if it also played a crucial role in enhancing public health? That’s the promise of micro-dosed lithium. This trace mineral, we usually associate with mining for the battery supply chain, is now being spotlighted for its potential health benefits when present in tap water.

Research suggests that areas with naturally higher levels of lithium in water might see notable reductions in suicide rates, violent crime, and even Alzheimer’s disease. In other words, it could turn a simple, everyday act of drinking water into a key to not just physical, but also mental well-being.

Let’s explore the evidence and implications of adding micro-dosed lithium to tap water and how it could represent a groundbreaking approach to public health.

with 🎙️ Sudhir Gadh – CEO & Founder @ Third Element Water

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True Elements runs a water intelligence platform that aggregates data from about 30 US federal agencies and 1.5 million live US sensors, then applies proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to score and forecast water quality and risk. It resolves any US watershed to the HUC-12 level, turning fragmented public datasets into decisions for utilities, ESG investors, and public agencies.

At the forefront of this technological revolution is True Elements, a company that’s introducing the concept of “water intelligence” by leveraging the power of AI. So today, let’s dive into how AI and machine learning are not just modernizing but revolutionizing water management strategies, providing deeper insights and smarter solutions for a sustainable future. As Kimberly Nelson tells in today’s release of the podcast (you’ll find just here ⬇️): “We are just at the beginning of people starting to appreciate and understand the importance of this kind of information and intelligence.”

Let’s dive deeper…

with 🎙️ Kimberly Nelson – COO @ True Elements

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Epic Cleantec has raised US$24.0M across three venture rounds to put onsite water reuse into high-density buildings, converting a building’s own greywater and blackwater into recycled water for toilet flushing, cooling towers, and irrigation. The economics drive adoption: developers cut water and sewer fees, and a 2024 Series B of US$12.0M funds the rollout.

So why is this shift happening now? As industries, municipalities, and agricultural enterprises grapple with the financial burden of water acquisition and the risks of unpredictable supply, water reuse stands out as a beacon of efficiency and reliability. The economic incentives of the water reuse revolution are becoming too potent to ignore, promising not only cost savings but also a competitive edge.

After the social dynamics of water reuse earlier this (special) week, today we dive into the economics of water reuse, uncovering the incentives that are driving its adoption at an accelerating pace. We’ll explore how this revolution is not just sustaining the environment but also swelling the wallets of those who have the foresight to invest in it.

with 🎙️ Aaron Tartakovsky – CEO & Co-Founder @ Epic Cleantec

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Xylem already runs 15 of its 43 product lines at Technology Readiness Level 9 (TRL 9), the fully commercial stage, with disinfection, filtration, and aeration trains deployed for water reuse. Wider adoption now hinges on public acceptance and political will, because the toilet-to-tap stigma still slows communities the technology is already built to serve.

Today, we’re looking at water reuse, not from a technological standpoint, but through the lens of societal, policy, and human behavior factors that play a pivotal role in its implementation and acceptance.

with 🎙️ Austin Alexander – Vice President, Sustainability and Social Impact at Xylem

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Veolia employs 48,842 people worldwide running drinking-water, wastewater, and environmental operations, the largely invisible workforce behind a business generating roughly US$18.7B in annual water revenue. Water utility roles offer stable, purpose-driven, decades-long careers, yet the sector struggles to attract talent even as a wave of retirements approaches at a company operating since 1853.

(Wanna get direct water job insights from a specialized head hunter? Then listen to this episode’s twin here)

with 🎙️ Kendra Morris – President Northeast Region at Veolia North America

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Happy New Year! With the start of a new year, it’s the perfect time to look at new job opportunities, especially in the water industry. This field is about to see a big change. Many experienced people are retiring, leaving room for new talent to step in. This change, often called the ‘silver tsunami,’ is a big deal for the water sector. But it’s not just about people leaving; it’s also about new chances for innovation and technology.

This is where you come in. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to shift gears in your career, the water industry offers exciting and important job opportunities. Let’s talk about all the changes happening in the water world and what they mean for jobs. From understanding the impact of retiring experts to the growing role of technology, we’ll (hopefully!) cover it all. If you’re curious about where a career in water can take you, read on!

(Wanna get direct water job insights while reading? Then listen to the dedicated podcast episode ⬇️)

with 🎙️ Lyle King – Owner & Director at Influx Search

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Let’s explore five paths a water professional can follow to reduce the water sector’s carbon impacts.

This year alone, I’ve traveled to six continents, I’ve taken 56 planes, and I’ve emitted nearly 12 tons of CO2 equivalent from that alone.

As I started having a hard time looking my kids in the eye and telling them I was doing all of that for good, I decided to compensate for my carbon emissions by planting trees! 

We’ve had that dead tree in the garden for two years now, so I could totally uproot and replace it with a couple of new ones and balance out my travels, right? 

So I looked up what gargantuan amount of CO2 a tree could absorb in a year to figure out how much I should plant in my garden, and… I have a problem.

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I dived into 23 years of M&A records in the Water Industry (and sat down with a bunch of first-hand experts 😉): 3 major trends stand out:

1️⃣ The most active players are American utility consolidators. Within the top 10 M&A fanatics, 6 respond to this description, and a 7th is also consolidating utilities (although not in the US).

2️⃣ There’s a new wave of “Water Tech Aggregators” that’s rising under the lead of SKion Water, Nijhuis Saur Industries and Evoqua Water Technologies.

3️⃣ 12 companies are playing the “Wayne Huizenga” game – super actively consolidating a very specific section of the water food chain.

with 🎙️ Tom Rooney – Chairman at Sciens Water

with 🎙️ Alex Buehler – CEO at Integrated Water Services

with 🎙️ Damian Georgino – Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson

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Ginkgo Bioworks programs the DNA of living cells the way software engineers write code, running designs through an automated foundry that screens vast libraries of genetic constructs to find the ones that work. Founded in 2008 and publicly listed on the NYSE under ticker DNA, the Boston company is pushing synthetic biology into water through biosensors that detect contaminants like selenium and PFAS.

with 🎙️ Kimberly Kupiecki – Senior Director at Gingko Bioworks

💧 Ginkgo Bioworks is the software company for biology, coding DNA to create custom cells that solve real-world problems.

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We’re diving deep into a topic that’s been swept under the rug for far too long: the media’s coverage of water issues – or lack thereof. Are journalists dropping the ball, or is the water sector failing to make its case?

with 🎙️ J. Carl Ganter – Managing Director at Circle of Blue

💧 Circle of Blue is an award-winning team of leading journalists, scientists, data experts, communications designers, and facilitators that reports challenges and solutions to global resource issues with emphasis on the fierce and growing competition between Water, food, and energy in a changing climate.

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Matter builds the Gulp washing-machine filter that traps the plastic microfibres synthetic clothes shed into household wastewater, a major route by which microplastics reach the ocean. The United Kingdom company raised a $10M Series A in 2023 led by S2G Ventures, then took growth funding led by Inter IKEA Group in 2025 to put filters inside new appliances and textile mills.

with 🎙️ Adam Root – CEO & Founder at Matter

💧 Matter is an innovation company pioneering technology solutions for capturing, harvesting, and recycling microplastics

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Kemira runs about US$1.4 billion in annual water-related revenue and is now steering that base toward bio-based treatment chemistry, replacing fossil-derived polymers and coagulants with biomass-balanced versions. The Nasdaq Helsinki-listed Finnish supplier, founded in 1920, anchors the shift in phosphorus recovery and AI-led chemical dosing.

with 🎙️ Tuija Pohjolainen-Hiltunen – President Industry and Water Segment at Kemira

💧 Kemira markets safe and sustainable chemistries that are part of a good life, ensuring hygiene, safe water, food safety, and more.

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Evoqua Water Technologies grew by acquisition, buying 23 companies for a disclosed US$822.1M between 2016 and 2022, anchored by the US$283.7M Neptune Benson deal alongside smaller technology tuck-ins. That open-innovation playbook of scouting and buying outside capability ended in a US$7.5 billion exit to Xylem in 2023.

with 🎙️ Ann Perreault – Vice President for Strategic Marketing & Growth at Evoqua Water Technologies

with 🎙️ Joshua Griffis – Director of Technology & Innovation at Evoqua Water Technologies

💧 Evoqua is a global leader in helping municipalities and industrial customers protect and improve the world’s most fundamental natural resource: water

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Xylem Innovation Labs partners with early-stage water-tech startups and takes no equity, scouting founders the way a sports club scouts talent and helping them scale through reseller, licensing, and white-label deals. The arm sits inside Xylem, an 8.5 billion dollar water company that has acquired 22 businesses since 2012, so partnering rather than buying marks a deliberate second lane.

with 🎙️ Max Storto – Lead Innovation Analyst at Xylem Innovation Labs

💧 Xylem is one of the largest water and wastewater technology company globally and follows the simple motto: “Let’s solve water”

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Is AI a force for good or a double-edged sword? In this comprehensive look, we’ll discuss everything from the ethics of AI to its transformative role in sustainability. Are you ready to understand the complexities of an “AI Sustainable Future?” Let’s dive right in:

with 🎙️ Alice Schmidt, MBA lecturer, Adviser to the European Commission, and non-profit organizations like Extinction Rebellion, Protect our Winters, and Chair of the Board of Endeva e.V.

with 🎙️ Claudia Winkler, CEO, and co-founder of Goood Mobile, Europe’s first B-Corp Certified telecom provider, and a Founding Partner of Adjacent Possible Network.

💧 Alice and Claudia had been with us for their first book “the Sustainability Puzzle,” and are back for an in-depth exploration of the AI world and its potential impact on Societal Progress and a Sustainable Future. Which is the topic of their second book: Fast Forward, written with Florian Schütz and Jeroen Dobbelaere.

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Mangrove Lithium pivoted from desalination to lithium refining and raised US$85M in 2026, led by the Canada Growth Fund, to build North America commercial-scale battery-grade lithium capacity. Founded in 2017 in Vancouver and spun out of the University of British Columbia, the company is backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and BMW i Ventures.

with 🎙️ Saad Dara – CEO and Founder of Mangrove Lithium

💧 Mangrove Lithium produces battery-grade lithium hydroxide or carbonate from a wide array of raw sources

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Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions runs water-tech innovation across an estimated US$3.4 billion water business built through 10 acquisitions since 2006, from AnoxKaldnes to Sentinel Monitoring. Its membrane and digital-twin R&D traces back to Zenon, and parent Veolia Environnement consolidated full ownership in 2025 by buying the final 30% stake for US$1.75 billion.

with 🎙️ Glenn Vicevic – CTO at Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions

💧 Veolia WTS provides Industry-leading water technology and process expertise to solve the toughest water, wastewater, and process challenges

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