Gradiant

Woburn,  MA 
United States
http://www.gradiant.com

• Booth: R7720

Gradiant: Water Reuse, PFAS & ZLD for Semiconductors

Overview

Company Background
Founded in 2013 from MIT, Gradiant is a global leader in water treatment solutions, headquartered in Boston with 288 approved and pending patents. In 2022, Gradiant acquired Taiwan’s WaterPark, a spinoff from ITRI’s wastewater team, strengthening its APAC presence with local R&D expertise.

Technology Advantages
Gradiant offers a unique portfolio of patented solutions:

• CFRO: patented brine concentration, achieving up to 260,000 mg/L TDS at ≤69 bar while delivering high-quality water.

• Bio-Infinity: advanced biological treatment (UASB, AFB, MBBR, ultrasound) for tough organics.

• SCE with FBC: selective chemical extraction for fluoride, heavy metals, and hardness.

• ForeverGone: PFAS destruction.

• HyperSolved: an integrated cooling water solution for data centers and AI infrastructures

• CGE: efficient thermal brine concentration.

Sustainability Mission
As AI accelerates demand across the semiconductor ecosystem, Gradiant helps customers use water more intelligently and sustainably. We reduce freshwater consumption, increase recovery and reuse, and support stronger, more resilient green supply chains. For fabs, this translates into high water recycling rates, lower operating costs, improved ESG performance, and a more sustainable production footprint.

Future Outlook
Gradiant will continue evolving its technologies to meet the needs of the AI-driven era. We are advancing PFAS removal, ZLD optimization, smart water management, and next-generation contaminant control, while working closely with partners in Taiwan to support the full ecosystem shaping the future of semiconductors and AI infrastructure.

  Press Releases

• Gradiant Expands US Operations with New Leadership, Office Openings, and Long-Term Services Contracts (Aug 26, 2026)

  BOSTON, Mass. – August 19, 2026 – Every microchip, data center, and megawatt of AI capacity depends on water. Today, Gradiant, the water layer of the AI economy, announced a series of milestones reinforcing its ability to solve that constraint across the United States: a new US leadership hire, three new offices, a new innovation center, and long-term services contracts, including one with a chip major.

  Gradiant named Dr. Nish Vora as Managing Director, Americas, to accelerate its growth momentum in the region. Dr. Vora is a proven growth leader whose career spans senior leadership roles at GE Water, Suez Water Technologies, and most recently Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions. His technical and commercial leadership is an excellent fit with Gradiant’s culture of Innovation with Speed for its customers. Alongside the appointment, Gradiant opened new offices in Phoenix, Syracuse, and Philadelphia.

  The company also launched its Global Innovation Center in Houston dedicated to advancing next-generation treatment technologies for North America, and grew its US headcount by 55% year to date.

  Underscoring this momentum, Gradiant secured new long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) contracts, including one to run the ultrapure water (UPW) system for a chip major. Gradiant will manage water quality, reliability, and compliance, freeing the customer to focus on its core manufacturing operations.

  The win draws on Gradiant’s global UPW expertise, including established teams in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, bolstered by a growing local US presence – an approach the company is applying as it scales O&M capabilities nationwide. Gradiant was selected for its customer-centric approach, speed of deployment, and depth of O&M expertise.

  “AI infrastructure doesn’t get built without solving for water first, whether that’s a fab, a data center, or a power plant,” said Prakash Govindan, CEO of Gradiant. “Winning long-term O&M relationships like this one shows customers increasingly want a single accountable partner for water, not just equipment or one-off applications. That’s exactly the role Gradiant is built to play as we scale across the US.”

  Gradiant designs, builds, and operates the water layer underpinning the AI economy, across chips, data centers, energy, and applied industries. As AI infrastructure investment accelerates globally, water availability, reliability, and reuse are becoming as strategic as power and land in determining where, and how fast, that infrastructure gets built.

  “Our target is to reach US$1 billion in order book in the United States alone next year,” said Dr. Nish Vora, Managing Director, Gradiant Americas. “With the team I am inheriting and the opportunity set in the market right now – the most activity I have seen in my three decades in the water industry – I am confident we will beat that target.”

  About Gradiant
  Gradiant is the Water Layer of the AI Economy. Founded at MIT and headquartered in Boston, Gradiant builds the water and wastewater infrastructure behind AI’s build-out, from chips and data centers to the energy and industries that depend on them. As AI demand accelerates, water is becoming the resource that determines what can be built. Gradiant’s technologies reduce what industry withdraws, reclaim what it would waste, and renew clean water to nature, with more than 3,000 treatment plants built across 92 countries. Learn more at gradiant.com.

  Corporate Contact
  Felix Wang
  Gradiant, Global Head of Marketing
  [email protected]

• Gradiant Supports Landmark Semiconductor Manufacturing Expansion in Dresden (Aug 26, 2026)

  BOSTON, Mass. – July 21, 2026 – Gradiant, a global leader in advanced water and wastewater solutions, today announced the successful completion of its work for a major new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Dresden, strengthening Europe’s capacity to produce the technologies powering an increasingly digital and electrified world.
   

  Representing an investment of approximately €5 billion, the new facility is one of Germany’s largest industrial projects and a significant expansion within Silicon Saxony, Europe’s leading semiconductor cluster. The project doubles manufacturing capacity at the customer’s Dresden site and is expected to create approximately 1,000 highly skilled jobs.
   

  The project is supported by approximately €1 billion in public funding through programs including the European Chips Act and the Important Project of Common European Interest, or IPCEI. The investment will strengthen European semiconductor supply chains and improve the resilience of industries that depend on advanced chips.
   

  Built for production on 300-millimeter wafers, the facility will manufacture power semiconductors and analog and mixed-signal technologies. These components are essential to AI data centers, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, power grids, and industrial applications.
   

  Gradiant supplied mission-critical ultrapure water and water recovery systems for the facility. The solutions are engineered to meet the stringent purity, reliability, and process consistency requirements of advanced semiconductor fabrication.
  
  Water is used throughout wafer manufacturing and rinsing operations, where even trace contaminants can affect product quality and manufacturing yield. Gradiant’s systems help provide the stable and dependable water supply required for these highly sensitive production processes.
   

  The rinse-water recovery systems supplied by Gradiant enable water from selected production processes to be captured and reused for appropriate applications within the facility. This supports more efficient resource use and strengthens the resilience of large-scale manufacturing operations.
   

  The facility uses industrial water rather than drinking water for its operations, helping conserve valuable drinking water resources. Internal recycling processes allow production water to be reused multiple times, with a target water recycling rate of up to 45% by 2033.
   

  Gradiant completed its project scope three months ahead of schedule. The accelerated delivery reflects close coordination among Gradiant, the customer, and the broader project team, as well as Gradiant’s ability to execute complex infrastructure projects under the semiconductor industry’s rigorous quality, safety, and scheduling requirements.
   

  “Semiconductors are the foundation of the AI economy, but their potential is ultimately constrained by the availability of water,” said Prakash Govindan, CEO of Gradiant. “Gradiant has spent more than a decade building the technologies and operating expertise required to make water certain for the world’s most advanced industries. This project demonstrates how we help manufacturers scale with confidence by delivering the purity, reliability, and water efficiency required for the next era of technology.”
   

  Philipp Sausele, Managing Director of Gradiant Europe, represented the company at the facility’s official inauguration in Dresden earlier this month. “We are proud to support a project that strengthens Europe’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities and enables a more digital and energy-efficient future,” said Sausele. “Completing our work ahead of schedule demonstrates the technical expertise of our teams and the strength of our collaboration with the customer and project partners.”
   

  The successful delivery further strengthens Gradiant’s position as a trusted water partner for semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. Across greenfield facilities, manufacturing expansions, and operations optimization, Gradiant helps customers improve water efficiency, production resilience, and environmental performance.
   

  About Gradiant
  Gradiant is the Water Layer of the AI Economy. Founded at MIT and headquartered in Boston, Gradiant builds the water and wastewater infrastructure behind AI’s build-out, from chips and data centers to the energy and industries that depend on them. As AI demand accelerates, water is becoming the resource that determines what can be built. Gradiant’s technologies reduce what industry withdraws, reclaim what it would waste, and renew clean water to nature, with more than 3,000 treatment plants built across 92 countries. Learn more at gradiant.com.
   

  Corporate Contact
  Felix Wang
  Gradiant, Global Head of Marketing
  [email protected]

• Gradiant Announces Series E Financing at $2 Billion Valuation to Accelerate Expansion in AI, Semiconductors, and Industrial Water Infrastructure (Aug 26, 2026)

  BOSTON, Mass. – May 18, 2026 – Gradiant today announced the close of Series E financing, valuing the company at $2 billion. The financing was led by Safar Partners and Hostplus Superannuation Fund, with participation from ClearVision Ventures and other global investors.

  
  The financing will support Gradiant’s continued global expansion, including strategic acquisitions, accelerated research and development, and investments in operational scale and IPO readiness. The announcement comes amid unprecedented commercial momentum for Gradiant, fueled by rapid growth in AI infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, and other mission-critical industries that require advanced water solutions.

  
  Gradiant is experiencing its largest backlog and strongest pipeline in company history, with significant growth across data centers, semiconductor fabs, and power, while the company’s business across food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, mining, and energy remains strong. As AI infrastructure scales at record speed, water has emerged as one of the critical constraints to its growth, reliability, and sustainability.

  
  Gradiant’s proprietary technologies, powered by its digital AI platform, enable customers in the world’s essential industries to secure water sourcing, maximize water reuse, minimize wastewater discharge, and reduce energy consumption across some of world’s most water-intensive operations. Over the last few years, Gradiant has emerged as one of the fastest-growing companies in the history of the water industry, driven by its differentiated technology stack, vertically integrated execution model, and unconventional leadership.

  
  “AI is re-making the global economy, but behind every chip and every data center lies massive and growing water demand,” said Anurag Bajpayee, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Gradiant. “Gradiant sits at the center of this transformation. We solve the world’s most important water challenges and enable essential industries to grow reliably and sustainably. This new financing gives us more firepower to expand faster, double down on our R&D, and continue building the defining water company of the AI era.”

  
  “The convergence of AI infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing growth, industrial sustainability, and water scarcity is creating a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” said David Elia, CEO of Hostplus Superannuation Fund. “We are excited to support Gradiant through its next phase of growth, building upon its deep technological leadership, proven execution capability, and strong market momentum.”

  “Gradiant is the only water company with truly differentiated technology, operating profitably and at scale, serving some of the world’s largest and most essential companies,” said Nader Motamedy, Managing Partner at Safar Partners. “We are proud to partner with Gradiant as it emerges as one of the world’s most important industrial technology companies.”

  About Gradiant

  Gradiant is a different kind of water company. With a full suite of differentiated and proprietary end-to-end water and wastewater solutions powered by top minds in water, the company serves the world’s essential industries, including semiconductors, datacenters, renewable energy, food & beverage, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, mining and critical minerals. Founded at MIT and headquartered in Boston, Gradiant has developed one of the industry’s most comprehensive portfolios of differentiated technologies which reduce water usage and wastewater discharge, reclaim valuable resources, and renew wastewater into freshwater. Learn more at gradiant.com.

  Corporate Contact

  Felix Wang

  Gradiant, Global Head of Marketing

  [email protected]

• Gradiant Delivers HyperSolved, Its AI Data Center Solution, to Leading Global Hyperscalers (Aug 26, 2026)

  BOSTON, Mass. – May 12, 2026 – Gradiant today announced that HyperSolved^TM, its end-to-end cooling water solution for AI data centers, is now deployed with several of the world’s largest hyperscale operators, supporting mission-critical infrastructure across major global markets.

  AI infrastructure is expanding at unprecedented speed, with global data center capacity projected to increase six-fold between 2025 and 2035. These next-generation facilities demand significantly more power and cooling than traditional computing, driving a sharp increase in water consumption. A single 100MW hyperscale campus can require water equivalent to  a city of 80,000 people each day.

  In many regions, growth is increasingly constrained not only by power and land, but by water availability, permitting complexity, and discharge limits. While compute and energy systems have matured, water infrastructure remains fragmented, forcing operators to manage multiple vendors and disconnected systems, introducing risk and slowing deployment.

  HyperSolved replaces this model by integrating the full cooling water lifecycle, from sourcing to discharge, into a single platform delivered by one accountable partner. Purpose-built for hyperscale environments, it reduces complexity, improves reliability, and accelerates deployment.

  “Water is one of the least integrated and most fragmented layers of data center infrastructure,” said Prakash Govindan, CEO of Gradiant. “We are in the middle of a once-in-a-generation build-out of AI infrastructure, comparable in scale to historic expansions like the railroads in the 1800’s, which connected regions and transformed entire economies. That level of growth demands a new approach. Today, water is still managed through a patchwork of vendors and solutions that were never designed for hyperscale. HyperSolved changes that by treating water as critical infrastructure, designed, delivered, and operated as one integrated system.”

  HyperSolved expands access to alternative water sources, including municipal reuse and other impaired supplies, reducing reliance on freshwater and increasing site flexibility. It protects cooling performance through integrated treatment, CURE Chemicals, and SmartOps AI, and minimizes discharge through high-recovery concentration and reuse, improving environmental performance and easing regulatory constraints.

  “You run the data center. We manage the water layer,” said Sankar Natarajan, Head of Special Projects at Gradiant. “By integrating water into a single system, it performs with the same reliability and accountability as power or cooling. HyperSolved gives operators a clear path to scale with less risk and fewer constraints.”

  Engineered for the pace of AI development, HyperSolved supports rapid deployment through containerized systems, enabling immediate or temporary capacity to support rapid build timelines, and delivers optimized long-term performance through permanent infrastructure. Gradiant also provides end-to-end lifecycle support, from commissioning through operations, ensuring continuity as facilities scale.

  Gradiant is seeing strong commercial adoption of HyperSolved among the world’s leading hyperscale operators, reflecting growing demand for integrated water infrastructure. The company expects data centers to represent approximately 25% of its global business by 2027, as water becomes a defining factor in where and how AI infrastructure can be built.

  HyperSolved is available globally, supporting hyperscalers, data center developers and operators, and engineering partners across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

  About Gradiant

  Gradiant is a Different Kind of Water Company. With a full suite of differentiated and proprietary end-to-end solutions for advanced water and wastewater treatment powered by the top minds in water, the company serves its clients’ mission-critical operations in the world’s essential industries, including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, lithium and critical minerals, and renewable energy. Gradiant’s innovative solutions reduce water used and wastewater discharged, reclaim valuable resources, and renew wastewater into freshwater. The Boston-headquartered company was founded at MIT and has over 1,400 employees worldwide. Discover us at gradiant.com.

  Corporate Contact

  Felix Wang

  Gradiant, Global Head of Marketing

  [email protected]

• Gradiant’s ForeverGone Sets New Standard for PFAS Destruction with Breakthrough Cost and Performance (Aug 26, 2026)

  BOSTON, Massachusetts – September 29, 2025 – Gradiant, a global leader in advanced water and wastewater solutions, today announced advancements in its ForeverGone PFAS destruction platform, establishing it as one of the most cost-effective and sustainable solutions for eliminating “forever chemicals” in industrial wastewater.

  
  Destroying PFAS at the Source
  ForeverGone is the first fully integrated platform that destroys PFAS compounds on site. The system pairs micro-foam fractionation with advanced electrooxidation to achieve 99–99.9% removal, including short-chain PFAS that older technologies often miss. Unlike granular activated carbon (GAC), ion exchange resin (IX or IER) and other “capture and dispose” approaches, ForeverGone eliminates PFAS completely and removes the need for costly disposal and environmental handling risks.

  
  A New Cost Benchmark
  Operating at just $0.10–$0.20 per cubic meter, ForeverGone delivers a breakthrough in affordability that is far below the $0.50–$2.00 per cubic meter total cost of conventional GAC or IX treatment. With energy use of only ~0.5 kWh/m³ as the primary operating expense, the system minimizes costs while on-site treatment eliminates the added costs and risks of hauling and disposal.

  
  “ForeverGone is the new model for how industries tackle PFAS,” said Anurag Bajpayee, Co-Founder and CEO of Gradiant. “By destroying PFAS at the source, we remove the burden of disposal and deliver compliance that is both cost-effective and sustainable. Regulations in Europe and Asia are accelerating adoption, while U.S. industries are preparing for the inevitable. ForeverGone gives customers confidence to meet today’s standards and tomorrow’s. And as attention turns to compounds like trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), this platform establishes a foundation for long-term leadership in emerging contaminants.”

  
  New Deployment at Munich International Airport
  Gradiant has commissioned a ForeverGone system at Munich International Airport to tackle contamination from fire suppressant aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). This deployment highlights the platform’s versatility in solving complex, legacy PFAS challenges. The latest ForeverGone units are now operating on-site, proving their effectiveness in high-profile, high-demand environments.

  
  Compact and Mobile
  After a four-year development program, Gradiant has reduced the footprint of its Destruction Engine electrooxidation unit by more than 100X, shrinking it to just 2% of the original system volume. Paired with Micro-Foam Fractionation, the result is a technology that is highly compact, mobile, and adaptable for both permanent installations and temporary remediation applications.

  Regulatory Drivers
  Demand is accelerating worldwide as regulations tighten:

  • Taiwan: Semiconductor discharge limits of 1.2 ppb, with compliance tied to double sampling protocols
     
  • South Korea: Industrial PFAS discharges under increased scrutiny
     
  • China: Stricter limits on PFAS in drinking water

  
  In Europe, aggressive PFAS restrictions are already in place, while in the United States, adoption is advancing as standards evolve. Clearer rules around leachate sites are already driving projects forward, and upcoming EPA guidance is expected to accelerate nationwide implementation, creating one of the largest future markets for PFAS remediation.

  
  Beyond PFAS
  Pharmaceutical customers are also engaging Gradiant on trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a compound linked to drug manufacturing byproducts. The EU is expected to decide on TFA regulation in 2026, which could open a significant new market for ForeverGone and related technologies.

  
  Connect with Gradiant at WEFTEC
  Gradiant will be at WEFTEC Chicago from September 29 to October 2, where visitors can join system tours of the ForeverGone platform and attend presentations inside the booth. Meet us at Booth 3867.

  About Gradiant

  Gradiant is a Different Kind of Water Company. With a full suite of differentiated and proprietary end-to-end solutions for advanced water and wastewater treatment powered by the top minds in water, the company serves its clients’ mission-critical operations in the world’s essential industries, including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, lithium and critical minerals, and renewable energy. Gradiant’s innovative solutions reduce water used and wastewater discharged, reclaim valuable resources, and renew wastewater into freshwater. The Boston-headquartered company was founded at MIT and has over 1,300 employees worldwide. Discover us at gradiant.com.

  Corporate Contact

  Felix Wang

  Gradiant, Global Head of Brand

  [email protected]

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