Case Study

Backing the Missing
Infrastructure for Water Tech

A modular wastewater solution unlocked the capital, supply chain, and execution muscle needed to go live, at scale.

Turning Crisis into Opportunity


A deep-tech founder stood at the crossroads of two converging global pressures:
rising water scarcity and growing industrial waste. Their breakthrough system could turn toxic, high-salinity wastewater into usable fresh water at a fraction of today’s costs.

But the chasm between proven tech and real-world deployment was enormous.
Industrial buyers moved slowly. Procurement was labyrinthine. Capital needs ballooned beyond traditional venture appetite. And entering global water markets required geopolitically savvy allies, not just funding.

That's where Vaomi stepped in. to build what was missing: the ecosystem. We connected the founder to infrastructure investors, industrial operators, and Middle Eastern market architects ready to accelerate deployment and unlock scale.

Industrial Water Treatment
Impact Unlocked

80% Energy

Recycled

Precision Playbook

How we transformed proven water tech into a scale-ready business

Insight

We reframed the story from “clean water” to risk removal, compliance and cost advantage, opening doors to bigger industrial markets.

Intelligence

Vaomi identified investors and funds built for CapEx-heavy hardware, filtering out misaligned capital and shortcutting months of outreach.

Acceleration

We assembled the right ecosystem - operators, scale-up partners, and regional channels, so the technology could move from pilots into deployment.

The Cohorts That Sparked Scale

A curated ecosystem of capital, operators, and experts driving industrial growth.

01

Energy & Deep Tech VCs

Funds that specialize in the "Valley of Death" between pilot success and commercial scale-up.

  • Managing $500M+ AUM
  • Focus on Industrial Circularity
02

Global Desalination Ops

Battle-tested executives who have built the water grids of the world and understand EPC nuances.

  • UAE & Saudi pipeline access
  • Former EPC COOs
03

O&G Supply Chain

Veterans from the Permian and Marcellus basins who understand the regulatory nightmare of "Produced Water".

  • Seismic risk mitigation focus
  • Regulatory liaisons
04

Scale-Up Architects

Operations leaders taking containerized modular systems from bespoke prototype to mass manufacturing.

  • Modular assembly experts
  • CapEx/OpEx Modeling
05

Sovereign & Impact

Experts in non-dilutive funding, focusing on water security as a national defense issue.

  • Non-dilutive capital access
  • Bureau of Reclamation ties

The Ripple Effect

A strategic JV in the Permian Basin and feasibility studies in the UAE. The founder gained industrial validation, deploying the first commercial unit and securing deep-tech funding. A desert experiment is now a global blueprint..

Field Proven
Desert Success

Industry Tested
Rainwater Output

Scale Ready
500 BBL

Market Targeted
US + Gulf

Capital Intelligence Network

The Global Frontline

Kevin Tidwell

Grantham Foundation

~$7.5B AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Fervo Energy, Electric Hydrogen, Applied Carbon, Running Tide.
  • ● Exits: QuantumScape (SPAC/IPO) and many more.

David Touhey

Ara Partners

~$6.2B AUM
  • ● Portfolio: BioVeritas, Blue Whale Materials, Centric Infrastructure Group, Vacuumschmelze.
  • ● Exits: Priority Power → I Squared Capital (2024), Mach Natural Resources (IPO).

Neda Jafar

Kimmeridge

~$4.7B AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Civitas Resources, Chestnut Carbon, Commonwealth LNG, Sitio Royalties.
  • ● Exits: Civitas Resources (IPO), Carrizo Oil & Gas, Sitio Royalties (public mergers).

Parikshit Sharma

SOSV

~$1.5B AUM
  • ● Portfolio:NotCo, Upside Foods, Perfect Day, MycoWorks, Prellis Biologics.
  • ● Exits: Formlabs, Roadrunner Recycling, Jump (→ Uber), ShopKeep (→ Lightspeed).

Vinny Beranek

Engine Ventures

~$1B+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Form Energy, Boston Metal, Sublime Systems.
  • ● Exits: Zapata AI (SPAC), Celero Systems (liquidity event).

Albert Wenger

Union Square Ventures

~$1B+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Wiliot, Terra.do, Mosa Meat, Wren, MongoDB.
  • ● Exits: Twitter (IPO), Etsy (IPO), Coinbase (IPO), Twilio (IPO).
Roberto Rocha

John Tabis

M13

~$1B+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Ring, Daily Harvest, FabFitFun, ClassPass, Capsule.
  • ● Exits:Ring (→ Amazon $1B+), Bonobos (→ Walmart), Lyft (IPO), Pinterest (IPO)
Roberto Rocha

Lisa Coca

Toyota Ventures

~$500M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Joby Aviation, AM Batteries, Air Company, Living Carbon, Avalanche Energy.
  • ● Exits:Joby Aviation (SPAC/IPO ~$6.6B), Revel (acquired), BlaBlaCar (liquidity)
Roberto Rocha

Matthieu Repellin

Airbus Ventures

~$465M AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Impulse Space, SpinLaunch, Universal Hydrogen, Zipline, e-peas.
  • ● Exits:Joby Aviation (IPO), Velodyne Lidar (IPO), Aeponyx (acquired)

US Regional & Specialized Strategists

Scott Day

Fall Line Capital

~$518M AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Granular, Trace Genomics, Benson Hill, GreenLight Biosciences.
  • ● Exits: Granular (→ DuPont ~$300M), Benson Hill (public markets).

Nelson Switzer

Climate Innovation Capital

~$350M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Groundwork BioAg, Nofence, LineVision, XGS Energy, Mysa.
  • ● Exits: Kuva Systems (2025).

Michael Dean

AgFunder

~$300M AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Solinftec, Fieldin, Chinova Bioworks, Atinary, Purissima.
  • ● Exits:Bear Flag Robotics (→ John Deere $250M), Root AI (→ AppHarvest).

Ishan Meswani

8090 Industries

~$250M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Oklo, Circ, Infinium, Cemvita Factory, Exowatt.
  • ● Exits: Oklo (SPAC/IPO ~$850M), Gold Hydrogen (IPO).

Madelene Larsson

Giant Ventures

~$250M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio:Agreena, Field, Doccla, Sano Genetics.
  • ● Exits: Calm (early fund exit), secondary liquidity events.

Madelene Larsson

Giant Ventures

~$250M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio:Agreena, Field, Doccla, Sano Genetics.
  • ● Exits: Calm (early fund exit), secondary liquidity events.

Sarah Sclarsic

Voyager Ventures

~$200M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio: Remora, Anthro Energy, Aepnus, CarbonChain.
  • ● Exits: Getaround (SPAC – founder exit), Modern Meadow (liquidity).

Sam Hasty

Active Impact Investments

~$170M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio:Sustain.Life, Keela, Aquacycl, Railvision.
  • ● Exits: Sustain.Life (→ Workiva ~$100M).

Lauren Usher

Gener8tor

~$100M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio:Vence, Understory, Fiveable, Moduly, Qualifi.
  • ● Exits: 34+ exits incl. Vence (→ Merck Animal Health).

Shomik Dutta

Overture

~$60M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio:BlocPower, Antora Energy, Crux, Forum Mobility.
  • ● Exits: Fund vintage still maturing, and more.

Pete Oberle

Trailhead Capital

~$50M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio:Vence, Propagate, Eion, HowGood.
  • ● Exits: Vence (→ Merck Animal Health), Trace Genomics (secondary).

Dennis Clark

Zeon Ventures

~$50M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio:Visolis, AM Batteries, Mitra Chem, Type One Energy.
  • ● Exits: Strategic CVC exits & partnerships (no disclosed valuations).

India-focused Investors

Amit Mehta

Builders VC / Angel Investor

~$450M+ AUM
  • ● Portfolio:Carbon Health, Notable Labs | Bira 91, Lohono Stays, Pickkup.
  • ● Exits: Tablt (acquired 2024), Intrinsic Imaging (→ WCG Clinical).

Vineet Jain

VU Venture Partners / Angel Investor

~$50M fund + syndicates
  • ● Portfolio:Shuttl, The Souled Store, Mojocare, Intugine.
  • ● Exits: Shuttl (→ Chalo), Fitso (→ Cult.fit), Sportido (acquired).

...and many more

Across the world