Good post. Water is this unfathomably huge blind spot in pretty much every discussion of climate change, natural resources, adaptation, etc. Has anything been so taken for granted in the history of mankind? And yet we so woefully mismanage our water resources that places like Arizona are literally looking at contracting with the Mexican government to pipe desalinated water from the Gulf of California. This is Mad Max-level stuff…we need to do better as a society.
Also, you say “we’ve priced carbon” but that’s really only half true. Carbon pricing is a highly fragmented market at best and no one really prices it at a level that will meaningfully reduce emissions. Instead, we’ve padded Tesla’s otherwise meager profits from all the credits they sell. Capitalism! 😍😍😍
Great points. Water really is humanity’s biggest blind spot, taken for granted for centuries, and now the cracks are showing everywhere. Arizona negotiating desalinated water with Mexico is definitely Mad Max-level crazy. It’s the ultimate indicator of our shortsightedness and collective failure to manage basic resources sustainably.
And agreed, carbon pricing is mostly symbolic: fragmented, inconsistent, and rarely impactful enough to genuinely curb emissions. Right now, it’s largely about corporate greenwashing and padding balance sheets, like Tesla’s carbon credit profits. Pure capitalism indeed! 😅
There are companies out there working on real solutions—check out Emerald Technology Ventures and some of their portfolio companies—but there’s no magic bullet of course. We just have to all get smarter about this.
Excellent story, thanks. You're right about the dynamics and friction that makes startups hard. Pricing is highly political and low prices reduce need for efficiency. Industries will be squeezed and will be main buyers of water tech. Startups able to serve them will scale a d raise capital. But yes, slow growth story.
Gradient is a good example of a breakout. Unicorn (or thereabouts) in only 10 years.
Yoann, with all due respect for Sir Attenborough, I have to say that water startups will never make any money. You are fundamentally misunderstanding the water market. Having spent 13 years advising municipal water utilities, I’ve seen it firsthand: water tech can innovate, but it won’t blitzscale. There’s no pricing power (water supply at scale is regulated), no fast customer acquisition, and in a crisis, no government will let a startup decide who gets water and at what price. Sorry.
Fair point, Emin. Glad you're sharing counterbalancing thoughts. I used to think like you, never saw anything commercial in tidal power, wave energy, windmills, desalination, or countless other water applications. They're too political, too messy, need too many actors involved, and desperately rely on subsidies to even stand a chance.
Most of this still applies today and probably always will. But the big shift is the rise of monster companies with massive budgets and unprecedented energy & water needs. They'll shape entire markets. They're racing irrationally to monopolize AI, robots, and humanity’s future. And they'll do whatever it takes to solve energy and water problems, just like they have to deal with server loads, cooling, assembly lines, sourcing parts, and critical minerals. That alone will drive huge demand for water solutions.
Another player has emerged too: petro-states racing to modernize quickly and shape the future, while expanding into desert conditions. Energy and water security sit right at the center of that race.
Thank you for clarifying, Yoann, but that much was stated on your original article. i still see no reason why a) these robotics and AI will develop to the point where they require enourmous amounts of water, and b) if they do, why would they need some fancy tech, rather than just asking for a connection from their local water utility?
This becomes a global problem because AI, chips, and robotics need physical infrastructure everywhere. Data centers and fabs are being built in dry places like Arizona, Texas, Middle East, etc. They suck up millions of gallons daily. A single chip fab can use 10M gallons per day, same as a mid-sized city.
As every country and mega-corp races to lead AI and robotics, securing water becomes part of the game. You can't scale AI if you can’t cool your data centers or run your fabs. That’s why it turns into a global race for water access and efficiency.
Startups will play a huge role here. Faster, cheaper desalination, wastewater recycling, better cooling, predictive water management. The big players will need these solutions to keep building. Massive opportunity opening up.
Governments will still be key for regulation and large-scale infra, but the real innovation curve happens at startup speed.
And yes, VC can place smart bets. The trick is to back startups that don’t just need massive government contracts to survive but build tech that big industrial players, data centers, or private utilities can adopt fast. If the tech helps save billions in operational costs or unlocks water access where it's blocking growth, adoption will be fast. Huge upside for the right plays.
I admire your strength of belief, Yoann! So far I see AI and robotics mostly in the news and social media, not on the ground. And everything you say about water startups have been said about all other bubbles, word-for-word. But anyway, thank you for bringing up the issue - I am now ready and know what to say should any investor/statup ask me about it)
Appreciate your thoughtful take. You're right that a lot of it still lives in headlines and hype cycles. My hope is that behind the noise, a few real teams are quietly building the tech that can actually scale. Water is tricky because the incentives are tough, but that’s also why it needs more patient capital and attention now before it turns into a much bigger crisis. Glad the post sparked some thoughts for you!
Sad you have to try selling saving the planet, and the oceans as a commodity.
We need massive cross governmental communication on saving our oceans.
When I was in Advertising and did a pro-bono ad campaign for the Long Island Sound of America (LISA), municipalities thought dumping raw sewage in their portion of coastline wouldn't affect anyone else.
Tell that to the kids playing with beach whistles (used tampons).
No Sir. This is an environmental emergency and should be treated as such across the globe. Selling it as capitalistic gain doesn't go far enough.
But, your bringing this need to the forefront is a great start!
The reality is: creating this kind of content, research and curation takes a huge amount of time and energy. And when you don’t have a corporate job or a stable paycheck, you need to find ways to make a living while still being able to dedicate your full time to the cause. For me, this model allows me to stay focused on the mission every single day. But if you have a better model that helps people do meaningful work full-time without burning out, I’m always open to ideas.
Good post. Water is this unfathomably huge blind spot in pretty much every discussion of climate change, natural resources, adaptation, etc. Has anything been so taken for granted in the history of mankind? And yet we so woefully mismanage our water resources that places like Arizona are literally looking at contracting with the Mexican government to pipe desalinated water from the Gulf of California. This is Mad Max-level stuff…we need to do better as a society.
Also, you say “we’ve priced carbon” but that’s really only half true. Carbon pricing is a highly fragmented market at best and no one really prices it at a level that will meaningfully reduce emissions. Instead, we’ve padded Tesla’s otherwise meager profits from all the credits they sell. Capitalism! 😍😍😍
Great points. Water really is humanity’s biggest blind spot, taken for granted for centuries, and now the cracks are showing everywhere. Arizona negotiating desalinated water with Mexico is definitely Mad Max-level crazy. It’s the ultimate indicator of our shortsightedness and collective failure to manage basic resources sustainably.
And agreed, carbon pricing is mostly symbolic: fragmented, inconsistent, and rarely impactful enough to genuinely curb emissions. Right now, it’s largely about corporate greenwashing and padding balance sheets, like Tesla’s carbon credit profits. Pure capitalism indeed! 😅
Thanks for sharing such thoughtful perspectives!
There are companies out there working on real solutions—check out Emerald Technology Ventures and some of their portfolio companies—but there’s no magic bullet of course. We just have to all get smarter about this.
Nice, thanks for sharing Emerald
Excellent story, thanks. You're right about the dynamics and friction that makes startups hard. Pricing is highly political and low prices reduce need for efficiency. Industries will be squeezed and will be main buyers of water tech. Startups able to serve them will scale a d raise capital. But yes, slow growth story.
Gradient is a good example of a breakout. Unicorn (or thereabouts) in only 10 years.
'Society rewards you for what it desperately needs or doesn't know how to yet' (Naval Ravikant)
Water will be a ginormous deal. Just need to be patient enough
Yoann, with all due respect for Sir Attenborough, I have to say that water startups will never make any money. You are fundamentally misunderstanding the water market. Having spent 13 years advising municipal water utilities, I’ve seen it firsthand: water tech can innovate, but it won’t blitzscale. There’s no pricing power (water supply at scale is regulated), no fast customer acquisition, and in a crisis, no government will let a startup decide who gets water and at what price. Sorry.
Fair point, Emin. Glad you're sharing counterbalancing thoughts. I used to think like you, never saw anything commercial in tidal power, wave energy, windmills, desalination, or countless other water applications. They're too political, too messy, need too many actors involved, and desperately rely on subsidies to even stand a chance.
Most of this still applies today and probably always will. But the big shift is the rise of monster companies with massive budgets and unprecedented energy & water needs. They'll shape entire markets. They're racing irrationally to monopolize AI, robots, and humanity’s future. And they'll do whatever it takes to solve energy and water problems, just like they have to deal with server loads, cooling, assembly lines, sourcing parts, and critical minerals. That alone will drive huge demand for water solutions.
Another player has emerged too: petro-states racing to modernize quickly and shape the future, while expanding into desert conditions. Energy and water security sit right at the center of that race.
Thank you for clarifying, Yoann, but that much was stated on your original article. i still see no reason why a) these robotics and AI will develop to the point where they require enourmous amounts of water, and b) if they do, why would they need some fancy tech, rather than just asking for a connection from their local water utility?
This becomes a global problem because AI, chips, and robotics need physical infrastructure everywhere. Data centers and fabs are being built in dry places like Arizona, Texas, Middle East, etc. They suck up millions of gallons daily. A single chip fab can use 10M gallons per day, same as a mid-sized city.
As every country and mega-corp races to lead AI and robotics, securing water becomes part of the game. You can't scale AI if you can’t cool your data centers or run your fabs. That’s why it turns into a global race for water access and efficiency.
Startups will play a huge role here. Faster, cheaper desalination, wastewater recycling, better cooling, predictive water management. The big players will need these solutions to keep building. Massive opportunity opening up.
Governments will still be key for regulation and large-scale infra, but the real innovation curve happens at startup speed.
And yes, VC can place smart bets. The trick is to back startups that don’t just need massive government contracts to survive but build tech that big industrial players, data centers, or private utilities can adopt fast. If the tech helps save billions in operational costs or unlocks water access where it's blocking growth, adoption will be fast. Huge upside for the right plays.
I admire your strength of belief, Yoann! So far I see AI and robotics mostly in the news and social media, not on the ground. And everything you say about water startups have been said about all other bubbles, word-for-word. But anyway, thank you for bringing up the issue - I am now ready and know what to say should any investor/statup ask me about it)
Appreciate your thoughtful take. You're right that a lot of it still lives in headlines and hype cycles. My hope is that behind the noise, a few real teams are quietly building the tech that can actually scale. Water is tricky because the incentives are tough, but that’s also why it needs more patient capital and attention now before it turns into a much bigger crisis. Glad the post sparked some thoughts for you!
Sad you have to try selling saving the planet, and the oceans as a commodity.
We need massive cross governmental communication on saving our oceans.
When I was in Advertising and did a pro-bono ad campaign for the Long Island Sound of America (LISA), municipalities thought dumping raw sewage in their portion of coastline wouldn't affect anyone else.
Tell that to the kids playing with beach whistles (used tampons).
No Sir. This is an environmental emergency and should be treated as such across the globe. Selling it as capitalistic gain doesn't go far enough.
But, your bringing this need to the forefront is a great start!
🚬😎
The reality is: creating this kind of content, research and curation takes a huge amount of time and energy. And when you don’t have a corporate job or a stable paycheck, you need to find ways to make a living while still being able to dedicate your full time to the cause. For me, this model allows me to stay focused on the mission every single day. But if you have a better model that helps people do meaningful work full-time without burning out, I’m always open to ideas.