Waterly Secures $4M Series A to Transform Water Management Systems
August 22, 2025
byFenoms Startup Research
Waterly, a rising player in the water technology sector, has successfully raised $4,000,000 in Series A funding, with support from Burnt Island Ventures and Emerald Technology Ventures. The round marks a significant milestone for the company as it scales its mission to bring smarter, more efficient, and data-driven solutions to water management facilities worldwide.
Who Is Behind Waterly?
Founded by Chris Sosnowski, Waterly was built with a simple but powerful vision: to modernize how water utilities monitor, track, and optimize their systems. While many industries have embraced digital transformation, water infrastructure remains fragmented, outdated, and heavily manual in reporting and compliance.
Waterly’s platform addresses this by providing cloud-based, mobile-friendly tools for water professionals. From daily field logs to compliance reporting, the software empowers operators to collect real-time data, analyze performance, and ensure systems meet strict regulatory standards - all without drowning in paperwork.
Why Waterly Matters Now
Water is one of the world’s most valuable and increasingly scarce resources. Climate change, population growth, and aging infrastructure are putting unprecedented pressure on municipalities and private utilities. The UN estimates that by 2030, nearly half of the global population will face water stress, highlighting the urgency for more innovative management tools.
Here’s where Waterly comes in. By digitizing workflows for small to mid-sized water utilities, the startup makes compliance faster, reduces operational errors, and helps communities make smarter, data-driven decisions. For investors like Burnt Island Ventures and Emerald Technology Ventures, the timing is perfect: governments are pouring billions into infrastructure upgrades, and water tech adoption is accelerating globally.
And here lies a powerful lesson for founders: the sectors that look “boring” from the outside often hide the biggest opportunities. Most entrepreneurs chase fast-moving, consumer-facing markets, but the real gold often lies in legacy industries weighed down by inefficiencies. When you build a tool that’s simple, solves compliance headaches, and fits seamlessly into regulated environments, you unlock not just revenue but also long-term customer stickiness. For Waterly, compliance isn’t just a feature - it’s a moat. Every founder should remember that sometimes the best growth strategy isn’t to chase trends, but to target industries that haven’t yet made the digital leap.
How the Funding Will Be Used
The $4M injection will allow Waterly to:
- Expand its engineering team to accelerate product development.
- Enhance platform features, including predictive analytics for water safety and automated compliance workflows.
- Scale customer support and sales, targeting more municipalities, utilities, and private operators.
- Push into new geographies, particularly in regions where water systems face mounting environmental challenges.
For early customers, this means a more robust product roadmap and quicker feature rollouts. For investors, it signals the potential for Waterly to dominate a niche that has historically been overlooked by traditional tech players.
Investor Confidence in Water Tech
Burnt Island Ventures and Emerald Technology Ventures are no strangers to water innovation.
- Burnt Island Ventures focuses exclusively on water-related startups, backing founders who address sustainability and infrastructure resilience.
- Emerald Technology Ventures, with a broader clean-tech focus, has funded numerous companies tackling energy, waste, and industrial efficiency.
Their joint backing of Waterly reinforces a growing investor appetite in water tech - a market that analysts project could surpass $1 trillion by 2030 as governments and industries race to update outdated infrastructure.
The Competitive Edge
While there are other players in the utility tech space, Waterly has carved a niche by focusing specifically on water management with a user-first approach. Unlike complex enterprise platforms that require months of onboarding, Waterly emphasizes:
- Mobile-first design for operators in the field.
- Quick deployment for utilities with limited IT resources.
- Affordable pricing tiers, making it accessible even to small-town operators.
This combination positions the company well to capture the long tail of underserved utilities, a market segment often left behind by larger software providers.
Why Founders Should Watch Waterly
For founders and operators, Waterly’s growth journey highlights several strategic lessons:
- Start with a simple pain point. Waterly began by solving reporting headaches, then expanded into compliance and predictive analytics.
- Don’t underestimate overlooked industries. Water utilities may not be flashy, but they’re essential - and stable customers.
- Leverage regulatory pressure as a driver. Compliance deadlines ensure consistent demand for better solutions.
By leaning into these principles, Waterly demonstrates how startups can thrive by combining necessity with usability.
What’s Next for Waterly
With fresh capital secured, Waterly is positioned to scale aggressively. The company plans to roll out next-generation compliance automation tools and expand partnerships with municipalities. Its long-term vision extends beyond compliance: building an integrated platform where water utilities can forecast demand, detect leaks before they spread, and optimize resource allocation in real time.As climate challenges intensify and global populations rise, startups like Waterly will be essential in safeguarding one of humanity’s most precious resources. If successful, the company won’t just make water systems more efficient - it could redefine how communities worldwide manage water security.