Fundraising Fox
Soma Water
AcquiredSan Francisco, US · Founded 2012 · Delaware corporation · 1 employees on LinkedIn · 9 known investors
Find your way into Soma Water
Sign up to see every warm intro you have to Soma Water
- Paths you didn't know you had: your email and LinkedIn already hold routes to the Soma Water team. We find them for you
- 2nd- and 3rd-degree connections: the friend-of-a-friend routes that take hours to manually find through your inbox or LinkedIn
- Answers now, not in days: momentum is everything in a raise. Skip asking around whether someone knows someone
Days of research, done the moment you sign in, with every route ranked by how warm it is.
Soma designs sustainable water filtration and hydration products sold direct to consumers with a filter subscription service.
Also known as drinksoma · Soma · Soma Water
Founders & leadership
Soma Water was founded in 2012 by Michael Del Ponte.
Board
Investors · 9
How we know: research · en.wikipedia.org · Not right? Tell us
How we know: research · en.wikipedia.org · Not right? Tell us
How we know: research · en.wikipedia.org · Not right? Tell us
How we know: research · en.wikipedia.org · Not right? Tell us
How we know: board seat on SEC Form D · Not right? Tell us
Also in the syndicate · 2
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$6.2M disclosed across 2 of 3 rounds · 2013–2015
▶$3.9MraisedSep 2016 · 38 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Ido LefflerDirector
- Steve AndersonDirector
- Michael Del PonteExecutive Officer, Director
- Brett BrewerDirector
- Offering amount
- $3.9M
- Amount sold
- $3.9M
- Finders' fees
- $5.7K
- Placement agents
- Fundme Securities LLC d/b/a CircleUp
- First sale
- Oct 2015
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2012
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$2.2MraisedOct 2014 · 31 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Michael Del PonteExecutive Officer, Director
- Rohan OzaDirector
- Brett BrewerDirector
- Steve AndersonDirector
- Ido LefflerDirector
- Offering amount
- $2.2M
- Amount sold
- $2.2M
- Finders' fees
- $16K
- Placement agents
- Fundme Securities, LLC d/b/a CircleUp
- First sale
- Sep 2014
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2012
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Soma is a San Francisco-based consumer products company that designs water filtration systems built around a glass carafe and a biodegradable filter. The filter uses coconut shell-based media rather than loose charcoal and was developed with David Beeman, who created water formulas for Starbucks and Peet's Coffee. Replacement filters are shipped to customers on a recurring basis, typically every two months.
Over time the product line expanded beyond the original carafe to include pitchers and reusable water bottles, with patent-pending filters made from renewable materials, alongside the filter subscription service. The company is a certified B Corporation and supports charity: water, contributing 1% of sales and funding clean drinking water projects.
Founding story
Mike Del Ponte conceived of Soma while hosting a dinner party in San Francisco: embarrassed by his plastic water filter, he tried to decant filtered water into a glass vessel and the pitcher lid fell off, spilling water across the kitchen floor. A guest, Ido Leffler, founder of Yes To, Inc., helped clean up, and the two discussed creating a better-designed, sustainable water filter. Del Ponte left his prior role and recruited collaborators from his network to build the product.
Business model
Direct-to-consumer sales of hydration hardware (carafes, pitchers, bottles) combined with a recurring subscription for replacement filters delivered to the customer's door.
One-time sales of filtration vessels plus recurring revenue from a filter replacement subscription billed on an approximately two-month cycle.
Traction
The 2012 Kickstarter campaign drew thousands of prospective buyers and raised $147,444 over 38 days, exceeding its $100,000 goal. The company subsequently funded clean drinking water projects for thousands of people through charity: water.
Latest developments
In November 2017, Full Circle Home acquired Soma, adding hydration to Full Circle's home product categories; Full Circle stated it would apply its manufacturing resources to enhance production of Soma products, and the two brands introduced joint holiday bundles priced between $45 and $90.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as a design-led alternative to mass-market plastic pitcher filters such as Brita and PUR, competing on aesthetics, sustainable materials and subscription convenience. The New York Times described the product as a "welcome change to the status quo," and Inc. Magazine named Soma one of the "most audacious companies of 2013."
Emphasis on industrial design, biodegradable and renewable filter materials, a B Corporation certification, and a social component through charity: water, contrasted with conventional plastic filtration pitchers.
Technology
A water filtration system pairing a glass carafe or pitcher with a biodegradable filter made from renewable materials, including coconut shell filtration media in place of loose charcoal; later filters were described as patent-pending. The filter design was created by water expert David Beeman.
Go-to-market
Crowdfunding launch on Kickstarter to validate demand and build an early customer community, followed by e-commerce sales through the company's own website and a subscription filter program; advisors and ambassadors such as Tim Ferriss supported early promotion.
Design- and sustainability-conscious household consumers buying filtered drinking water products online.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, selling online to consumers and supporting charity: water clean-water projects internationally.
History
Founded in 2012 by Mike Del Ponte, Ido Leffler, Rohan Oza and Zach Allia, Soma launched a Kickstarter campaign in December 2012 that passed $100,000 in nine days and closed at roughly $147,000 against a $100,000 goal. In July 2013 the company announced a $3.7 million seed round, and it opened ordering to the public on September 16, 2013. In November 2017 Soma was acquired by Full Circle Home.
Risks & controversies
Reported challenges during the startup phase centered on building an e-commerce platform and developing the physical product on a constrained budget, and on team management and prioritization.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 6
launches, deals, and filingsFull Circle Home, a design-focused cleaning and lifestyle brand and certified B Corporation, acquired Soma's line of hydration products; Full Circle applied its manufacturing resources to Soma production.
Soma opened ordering of its glass carafe and biodegradable filter to the general public.
Soma announced a $3.7 million seed round with participation from Baseline Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Lerer Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Cowboy Ventures, Vast Ventures, Mindful Investors and Tim Ferriss.
$3.7M source ↗
Soma partnered with the nonprofit charity: water, donating a share of proceeds (reported as 1% of sales) to clean water projects.
Soma launched a Kickstarter campaign in December 2012, passing $100,000 within the first nine days and finishing at roughly $147,000 (reported as $147,444 over 38 days against a $100,000 goal).
$147.4K source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structure▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
- Soma (company) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · web
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Soma Water do?
- Soma designs sustainable water filtration and hydration products sold direct to consumers with a filter subscription service.
- Who founded Soma Water?
- Soma Water was founded by Michael Del Ponte in 2012.
- Who are Soma Water's investors?
- Soma Water's investors include Baseline Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Cowboy Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, JAZZ Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau, Vast Ventures.
- How much funding has Soma Water raised?
- Soma Water has disclosed $6.2M raised across 2 of its 3 known rounds.
- Where is Soma Water headquartered?
- Soma Water is headquartered in San Francisco, US.