Dealflow | June 30, 2021

Aquagenuity closes $1.7 million seed round to prevent water-related crises

Amy Cortese
ImpactAlpha Editor

Amy Cortese

ImpactAlpha, June 30 The Flint water crisis was a wakeup call that safe drinking water is not a given, especially in underserved communities. Doll Avant, a data scientist and founder of Aquagenuity, saw it as a data problem. (Some 3,500 U.S. communities have more lead in their water than Flint did, she says).

Avant, then a Harvard undergraduate, started Aquagenuity to help bring transparency to the opaque world of water data as a way to prevent future Flints. “We want to make it easy to check your water as it is to check the weather,” she told ImpactAlpha.

What’s in your water?

Atlanta-based Aquagneuity aggregates government water data into a public database. Individuals can enter a zip code and get a local water score and information about contaminants. The company also sells water test kits that supply more data.

Softbank led the seed round, with participation by Google, Amazon, BMW Mini’s Urban X Fund, CerraCap and two family offices.