​Ripple Hosts

​Steve Kloos

​Burnt Island Ventures

​Shanbor Gupta

​Clean Energy Ventures

​TL;DR

​Is water at the start of a multi-decade investment run? Rainfall patterns are changing, droughts and flooding are wreaking havoc, infrastructure is aged, pollutants are pervasive, industrial demands for pure water are rising, while digital, software, AI, and materials science innovations are new opportunities.

​Topic overview

​Why is the topic relevant?

​Climate change is wreaking havoc on the $1.6T/yr water sector, as droughts intensify, water scarcity grows, and flooding causes disasters to people and property. Also, we're dealing with a crisis of pollution, including ubiquitous PFAS, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and algae blooms. In the developed world, much of the water & wastewater infrastructure is aged and is decaying while the developing world is building out water infrastructure. Water underpins 60% of global GDP, and when water is at risk, there is no alternative - water must be solved. Water has been labeled by some as a global megatrend that will have a multi-decade run - but today water makes-up only ~3% of all climate VC investments. What are the innovations that are needed, who are the entrepreneurs that are making it happen, and how can we solve the water crisis?

​What’s up for discussion?

• ​What are the answers to water scarcity?

• ​Is seawater desalination the answer?

• ​What is the outlook for water reuse?

• ​How can digital and AI help solve water?

• ​What strategies are founders using to enter the water market and scale?

• ​How is the pullback on decarbonization affecting the water sector?

• ​What does the exit environment look like? Is this the biggest barrier preventing more capital ‘flowing in’ to the sector?

• ​Where are the best opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs in water?

​Dream outcome

​Raise awareness that spurs more outstanding entrepreneurs to water, increase investment into water start-ups, have water better understood in the context of climate.

​Who should attend?

​Founders, VCs, LPs, corporates - from the water curious to the water committed