Energy & Sustainability Client Feature — Gradiant
This month, we are excited to feature Gradiant, a leading global end-to-end cleantech water treatment solutions provider and project developer. Gradiant announced on November 17, 2021 that it had raised over $100 million in Series C funding. The round was led by Warburg Pincus LLC, a leading global growth investor, and Schlumberger New Energy, a pioneer provider of technology to the global energy industry, and was oversubscribed from its initial target of $65 million. This round brings Gradiant’s total funding to date to over $200 million since inception.
The funding will enable Gradiant to further expand into strategic markets and industries; finance the equity contribution into new project assets; accelerate the deployment of Gradiant’s innovation and technology offerings; and strategically acquire complementary and synergistic companies in cleantech water and sustainability. The company plans to grow its business in key sectors such as food and beverage, microelectronics, pharmaceuticals, and mining, from its already established geographies in the Asia Pacific, the United States, and the Middle East.
Gradiant was founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to solve the most challenging water treatment problems through sustainable technologies to make a positive impact on the environment, society, and the economy. Gradiant develops and delivers advanced water and wastewater treatment facilities around the world, with a primary focus in the rapidly growing Asia Pacific region, for global brand owners and manufacturers with mission-critical needs in cleantech water and sustainable operations. The company offers a broad portfolio of proprietary and patented technologies and services for end-to-end cleantech solutions that focus on water reuse, resource recovery, brine concentration for minimum and zero liquid discharge (MLD / ZLD), and digital solutions for plant performance optimization. Gradiant offers flexible models for the design-build, operate-maintain, and financing of projects based on customers’ specific needs and situations.
“Gradiant is on an exciting growth trajectory, led by a strong management team with a deep understanding of the water solutions required for their customers to increase sustainability in the supply chain,” said Roy Ben-Dor, managing director at Warburg Pincus. “Gradiant’s consistent success is a reflection of the progress the team has made in offering differentiated and effective cleantech water solutions to the top brands in the world,” added Jeff Luse, a principal at Warburg Pincus who will also join the company’s board of directors.
Anurag Bajpayee, co-founder and CEO of Gradiant, added, “Our customers are global Fortune 100 brand owners in core markets and industries. With the common theme that they consume and treat incredible amounts of water for mission-critical operations that make the world go round for their essential products and services. Our customers are increasingly facing financial and social pressures to lead sustainable development by maximizing water reuse & resource recovery and minimizing discharges to the environment and energy usage. They look to Gradiant for innovation, leadership, and execution. Our solutions are in the sweet spot for enabling our customers to reach their sustainability goals to meet the expectations of the stakeholders and communities they serve.”
Ashok Belani, executive vice president of Schlumberger New Energy, stated, “We look forward to collaborating with Gradiant’s expertise in resource management & recovery and advanced wastewater treatment through synergies in technology and strategic markets. Gradiant offers game-changing clean water solutions which we can leverage moving towards our shared vision for a sustainable future.”
The Mintz Energy & Sustainability team leading the Series C funding round included Eric Macaux, Kaoru Suzuki, Garret Galvin, and Paula Valencia-Galbraith with support from Tom Burton and Sahir Surmeli. We are proud to be a partner to Gradiant for almost 10 years and grateful to be a part of the team as Gradiant continues to expand its business and deliver innovative solutions to leading customers around the world.
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