Los Angeles, Calif. – April 12, 2007 – NanoH₂O, Inc. today announced that it has secured $5 million in funding from Khosla Ventures. The Series A funding will be used to further the development of NanoH₂O’s nanotechnology-enhanced advanced membrane materials that dramatically improve the baseline economics of desalination and water reuse. In addition, Samir Kaul, General Partner at Khosla Ventures, has joined NanoH₂O’s Board of Directors.
“Freshwater scarcity is an increasingly global issue, but desalination remains an expensive alternative source of water because it is energy intensive,” said Jeff Green, CEO at NanoH₂O. “NanoH₂O’s next generation membranes are energy-efficient and fouling resistant, providing industrial users and a growing world population with affordable high purity water from fresh, brackish and seawater sources.”
NanoH₂O’s advanced membrane technology leverages existing membrane synthesis techniques, requiring few modifications to existing commercial facilities, and fits within current desalination pressure vessels without alteration. NanoH₂O enhances current polymer-based membranes with nanostructured material that allows additional ‘degrees of freedom’ in the control of membrane properties. The result is a wide array of advantageous membrane characteristics including improved permeability while maintaining requisite salt and contaminant rejection, both passive and active fouling resistance, as well as ‘tunable’ membrane performance to address specific water chemistries.
“NanoH₂O is at the forefront of the nexus between nanotechnology and water purification,” said Samir Kaul, General Partner of Khosla Ventures. “We are thrilled to support them in these efforts and expect that the technology they are developing will have a very positive impact on the industry and the environment overall.”
About NanoH₂O, Inc.
Founded in late 2005 by experienced and proven entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists, NanoH₂O is committed to developing a new generation of advanced membrane technology to maintain an economically viable and sustainable freshwater supply. Based on pioneering nanotechnology research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), NanoH₂O’s focus is on the synthesis of new materials for desalination and water reuse. The company recently received an investment from Khosla Ventures, one the leading investors in the Cleantech arena, to accelerate its growth. In addition to sound science and engineering development work, NanoH₂O has assembled a strong intellectual property portfolio to support its position as a next generation membrane company.
About Khosla Ventures
Khosla Ventures offers venture assistance, strategic advice and capital to entrepreneurs. The firmhelps entrepreneurs extend the potential of their ideas in both traditional venture areas like the Internet, computing, mobile, and silicon technology arenas but also supports breakthrough scientific work in clean technology areas such as bio-refineries for energy and bioplastics, solar, battery and other environmentally friendly technologies. Vinod Khosla was formerly a General Partner at Kleiner Perkins and founder of Sun Microsystems. Vinod has been labeled the #1 VC by Forbes and Fortune recently labeled him as one the nation’s most influential ethanol advocates, noting “there are venture capitalists, and there’s Vinod Khosla.” Vinod Khosla founded the firm in 2004 and was joined by partners David Weiden and Samir Kaul, as well as chief scientific officer Doug Cameron in 2006. Khosla Ventures is based in Menlo Park, California.