/Companies

Gradiant

Unicorn · $2B

Woburn, US · Delaware corporation · 9 known investors

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Gradiant designs and builds water and wastewater treatment plants using its proprietary technology stack, helping industrial customers reduce freshwater withdrawal, reuse wastewater, and return clean water to the environment. It serves sectors including semiconductors/microelectronics, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, power, mining, and renewables, and operates globally.

Also known as Gradiant Corporation

Founders & leadership

ABAnurag Bajpayee
Anurag BajpayeeCo-founder and Executive ChairmanAnurag Bajpayee is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Gradiant, a company that develops water and wastewater treatment technology for industries such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, renewables, and mining. His research on desalination and industrial water treatment underpinned the company, which originated at MIT, where he earned his master's and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering.
PGPrakash Govindan
Prakash GovindanCo-founder · Chief Executive OfficerPrakash Govindan is co-founder and CEO of Gradiant, which designs and builds water and wastewater treatment plants for industrial customers in semiconductors, data centers, power, mining, and other sectors. The company has developed proprietary technology for ultrapure water production, wastewater recovery, and zero-liquid-discharge systems, and holds over 100 patents.
MD
Mark DanchakNamed on SEC filing
JL
Jeff LuseNamed on SEC filing
KW
Keith WilsonNamed on SEC filing
AB
Ashok BelaniNamed on SEC filing
LJ
Luke JohnsonNamed on SEC filing
JW
Justin WooNamed on SEC filing
CH
Craig HuffNamed on SEC filing

Investors · 9

Also in the syndicate · 1

Hostpluslead

Funding

SEC filings, press & company announcements

$329.8M disclosed across 2 of 4 rounds · 2021–2026

  • Undisclosed amountSeries EMay 2026 · 2 sources
    Source ↗
▶$225MraisedMay 2023 · 2 investors · Other
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Mark DanchakDirector
  • Jeff LuseDirector
  • Keith WilsonDirector
  • Ashok BelaniDirector
  • Anurag BajpayeeExecutive Officer, Director
  • Luke JohnsonExecutive Officer, Director
  • Justin WooDirector
  • Craig HuffDirector
  • Prakash GovindanExecutive Officer, Director
Offering amount
$300M
Amount sold
$225M
First sale
May 2023
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗
▶$104.8MraisedDec 2021 · 15 investors · Other
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Keith WilsonDirector
  • Ashok BelaniDirector
  • Prakash GovindanExecutive Officer, Director
  • Jeff LuseDirector
  • Anurag BajpayeeExecutive Officer, Director
  • Luke JohnsonExecutive Officer, Director
  • Justin WooDirector
Offering amount
$104.8M
Amount sold
$104.8M
Minimum investment
$30K
First sale
Jun 2021
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗

Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.

Valuation · disclosed

Disclosed events
$2Bvaluation at Series EMay 2026
filing ↗

Source: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed — follow each entry's link for the claim.

Company profile

researched Aug 2026

Gradiant is an industrial water technology company that designs, builds, and operates end-to-end water systems, spanning intake through discharge, for water-intensive industries. The company positions its offering around three functions: reducing freshwater withdrawal by drawing usable water from non-potable sources, reclaiming resources from industrial wastewater streams, and renewing wastewater into high-quality freshwater that can be recycled within a facility.

The company organizes its commercial activity around what it describes as five layers of the AI economy: chips (semiconductor manufacturing), data centers, energy/power, applied industries, and models. Its portfolio of solutions is built on an in-house technology stack that includes counterflow reverse osmosis (CFRO), a form of osmotically-assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) used for brine concentration and zero-liquid-discharge applications, and SmartOps, an AI-based operations layer. In 2026 Gradiant introduced HyperSolved, an end-to-end cooling water solution for AI data centers, and reported deployments with global hyperscalers.

Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.

Key figures

latest reported
Carbon emissions avoidedJan 2026950 metric tons
CFRO water recovery rateMar 202699%
Electricity savedJan 20261,500 megawatt hours
Freshwater withdrawals reducedJan 20266,500,000,000 liters
Post-money valuationMay 2026$2B
Valuable resources reclaimedJan 202610,500 kilograms
Wastewater renewedJan 20268,500,000,000 liters

Company-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.

Timeline · 3

launches, deals, and filings
May 2026
Named to Inc. Magazine's "17 Startups Rebuilding America in 2026"

Inc. Magazine named Gradiant one of "17 Startups Rebuilding America in 2026," citing its water infrastructure work for semiconductors, data centers, pharmaceuticals, batteries, and advanced manufacturing.

source ↗

May 2026
Gradiant announces Series E financing at $2 billion valuation

Gradiant announced a Series E financing at a $2 billion valuation, led by Safar Partners and Hostplus, to accelerate expansion across AI infrastructure, semiconductors, and industrial water infrastructure. The company said proceeds support strategic acquisitions, R&D, operational scale, and IPO readiness.

source ↗

May 2026
Gradiant delivers HyperSolved AI data center water solution to global hyperscalers

Gradiant deployed HyperSolved, an end-to-end cooling water solution for AI data centers, with leading global hyperscalers, integrating the full water lifecycle into a single platform for deployment in water-constrained regions.

source ↗

Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.

Legal entities · 1

corporate structure
GradiantDelaware

In the news

▸Research sources · 1

primary sources listed

1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.

Frequently asked questions

What does Gradiant do?
Gradiant designs, builds, and operates industrial water and wastewater treatment systems for AI-economy infrastructure.
Who founded Gradiant?
Gradiant was founded by Anurag Bajpayee, Prakash Govindan.
Who are Gradiant's investors?
Gradiant's investors include CapTable, Clearvision Ventures, CloudStone Capital, GRC Sinogreen, Safar Partners, Warburg Pincus, WAVE Equity Partners, WorldQuant Ventures.
How much funding has Gradiant raised?
Gradiant has disclosed $329.8M raised across 2 of its 4 known rounds.
Where is Gradiant headquartered?
Gradiant is headquartered in Woburn, US.