54% country extreme water scarcity, and 21 cities running out of groundwater
DigitalPaani, a Stanford and IIT-Delhi founded company redesigning water management, today announces an oversubscribed $1.2 million capital raise. The seed round is led by global investors including Elemental Excelerator (marking their first Asian investment) and Indian institutional investors Enzia, Peer Cheque, SAE, DevC, and Bharat Founders Fund. Leading angels including Ashish Goel (Urban Ladder), Alok Mittal (Indifi), Mohit Sadani (Moms Co) and Mohit Tandon (Delhivery) have also participated in this round.
Built by father-daughter duo Mansi Jain and Rajesh Jain with 25+ years of experience in the industry, DigitalPaani is dedicated to revolutionizing wastewater management, unlocking its potential to meet up to 65% of water needs while reducing costs by up to 35%, thus filling a crucial need gap in the industry. The company’s IOT enabled platform optimizes plant operations to treat more wastewater, reduce downtime, and enable water reuse. Notably, the platform has showcased up to 30% increases in treatment capacity and a substantial 66% cost savings at its commercial sites.
The startup plans to use the fresh funds to scale its technology to more wastewater treatment plants across India as well as explore future markets. These funds will unlock additional sales channels as the startup further delivers on its mission.
Commenting on the announcement, Mansi Jain, CEO & Co-Founder said, “This fundraise is pivotal in enabling us to solve water scarcity and pollution issues at scale. We’re so excited to build our offering out and help facilities across the country unlock the power of DigitalPaani.”
Clean water scarcity, impacting over two billion people globally, is a growing challenge. DigitalPaani is tackling this issue by providing automation and software solutions to enhance wastewater treatment infrastructure functionality. The startup’s platform monitors infrastructure performance, identifies issues, and provides remedial guidance. It functions analogously to a medical doctor for water systems, assessing conditions and prescribing dosages, equipment settings, process adjustments, and operator instructions for remediation. Through operational excellence at individual facilities, the solution ultimately protects the environment by optimising wastewater reuse.
Speaking on the investment, Dawn Lippert, Founder & CEO of Elemental said, “At Elemental Excelerator, our mission is to scale technologies with deep climate and community impact. That’s why we’ve chosen to invest in DigitalPaani. Spearheaded by a diverse duo of ecopreneurs dedicated to advancing water solutions, their innovative technology promises to enact significant change in India’s water systems. We believe that clean water is a fundamental right for all, and DigitalPaani’s innovative approach to water management is a crucial step toward achieving that.”
DigitalPaani’s tech is already in use by 40+ industry giants, including Tata Power, Delhi Jal Board, Britannia, and Leela Hotels. Over the next twelve months, Digital Paani aims to accelerate growth in key urban centers, including the National Capital Region of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, and Hyderabad. The company plans to assist over 150 wastewater treatment facilities, ensuring more efficient operations and contributing significantly to India’s water sustainability goals.
