Market Focus
Investment Criteria
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ABOUT
We are passionate about
leveraging technology to
address the water/wastewater risks faced by industry and society
OUR TEAM
Technology, water, venture
The common denominator across all our backgrounds is our view that water and wastewater risks can be addressed by leveraging technology.
Background: Mazarine was formed in 2018 as a venture capital group with an impact mandate entirely focused on backing early-stage technology companies with innovations that address risks relating to water and/or wastewater. Our first investment was in early 2019, our incubator launched in 2020, and we are launching a new fund, Mazarine Climate, in 2025.
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Overarching Investment Thesis: By investing in early-stage technology companies with innovations that address water-related risks we can generate significant social & environmental impact, and financial return.
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Worldview: Water, the protagonist or 'hero' in humanity's story has become the antagonist (the disrupter) adversely affecting industries as diverse as agriculture, mineral processing, insurance, transportation, and human health. An already changed climate has now given water-the-antagonist more swagger, bringing industry and society to their knees, especially in Base of the Pyramid communities around the world.
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To offer our children's children the same quality of life we have enjoyed, we need to leverage technology to manage water quality and quantity risks.
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The Role of Technology: We can keep water-the-antagonist 'off-stage' by leveraging technological innovations that help industry and society observe (eg: IOT, geospatial, lab testing, digitization, etc), analyze (eg: AI, ML, etc), and address (eg: process engineering, earthworks, chemistry, biology, tapping new water sources, etc) water and/or wastewater risks. Sound public policy is crucial, but technology is ultimately the most effective way for industry and society to manage water/wastewater-related risks.
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Why Mazarine: We are technologists passionate about social and environmental impact, we understand markets, and know the exits.
JOHN ROBINSON
PETE NASSOS
ANDERS HALLSBY PhD
DO WE INVEST IN WATER? ​
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No, we are technology investors. We back early-stage companies developing intellectual property rooted in chemistry, data science, materials science, microbiology, and process engineering to address challenges related to the use of water and/or management of wastewater across various industries. Interestingly, most companies in our portfolio do not sell to water or wastewater utilities. Instead, they focus on industries where water poses significant challenges, risks, or inefficiencies.
Terms like “Investing in Water,” “Water Investors,” “Water Innovations,” and even “Water-tech” are often ambiguous and vary in interpretation, leading to unproductive conversations. In fact, using these terms can create confusion, resulting in either decision paralysis or poor investment outcomes.
Mazarine’s approach is clear: we invest in technologies that address water-related risks across multiple market segments. These technologies share a common goal of managing risks for governments, businesses, and households—whether by managing water quantity (addressing excess water or scarcity) or improving water quality (ensuring water is suitable for its intended use).
OUR EXPERTISE
Water & Wastewater
We bring decades of experience in commercializing technologies and building and managing businesses that deliver solutions to address water and wastewater risks across diverse industry sectors.
OUR PURSUIT
Time Travelers
We seek to invest in founders who have glimpsed the future and returned with a vision. These are forward-thinking leaders who identify opportunities that others have yet to recognize or lack the capability to pursue.
OUR POINT OF VIEW
Investment Opportunities
Evaluating ‘water-tech’ investment opportunities through the lens of risk enables us to assess a young company’s understanding of product-market fit, customer motivations, the competitive landscape, and broader macroeconomic factors. We support founders who clearly demonstrate how their solutions effectively address one or more of these 4 risks, surpassing the performance of incumbent alternatives.
Public Health & Safety Risks
Public awareness and concern about potable and surface water have never been higher or more widespread. The companies Mazarine supports are introducing innovative solutions—whether through hardware, software, or new business models—that empower their customers to effectively manage water and wastewater-related public health and safety risks.
Higher Cost Risks
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Utilities are grappling with escalating costs to manage source water and distribution, while water users—such as farmers, mineral processors, manufacturers, and homeowners—are experiencing unprecedented increases in water costs. Mazarine supports companies that bring innovative solutions to market, combining hardware, software, or novel business models to help their customers effectively manage the risks associated with rising water costs.
Environmental Protection Risks
Both the private and public sectors are recognizing the growing urgency to address biodiversity loss and effectively manage aquatic assets such as lakes, rivers, wetlands, and coastal marine ecosystems. Mazarine supports companies that bring innovative solutions to market—through hardware, software, or transformative business models—designed to help their customers mitigate risks associated with natural infrastructure.
Business Continuity Risks
Companies across nearly every industry—from agriculture to insurance, semiconductor manufacturing to real estate—are confronting a range of water quantity and quality challenges that can disrupt operations or significantly impact their bottom line. Mazarine invests in companies that deliver innovative solutions, combining hardware, software, or new business models, to help their customers effectively manage water and wastewater-related risks that threaten business continuity.
...and each of these risks is being exacerbated by climate change
Despite the best intentions behind past and ongoing decarbonization efforts, the planet continues to warm, causing significant disruptions to the hydrological cycle. Unfortunately, industry and society’s attempts to address these 4 key risks will remain challenged by the realities of a changing climate. Mazarine invests in early-stage companies developing innovations to help effectively manage these risks.
Mazarine measures our impact by applying the ESG framework to score early-stage technology companies on how their innovation supports their customers’ ESG efforts.
What is our scoring model?
Mazarine has developed a proprietary scoring model used during due diligence to assess how an early-stage technology company’s innovation supports its customers’ Environmental, Social, or Governance (ESG) initiatives. A higher score indicates that the company’s offering significantly enhances its customers’ ESG efforts, while a lower score suggests only minimal impact.
This ESG score is determined by asking a series of targeted questions during the due diligence process, designed to evaluate the potential impact in the areas of Environmental (E), Social (S), or Governance (G). (See sample questions on the right.)
For more information about Mazarine’s impact mission, ESG scoring model, or the scores of our portfolio companies, please contact us directly.
Environmental (E):
How does this company’s offering support its customers in achieving environmental goals, such as:
a) Reducing waste and pollution
b) Preserving natural resources
c) Addressing various environmental risks
Social (S):
How does this company’s innovation help its customers meet social goals, including:
a) Enhancing public health and safety
b) Increasing access to safe drinking water
c) Supporting utilities in maintaining affordable water pricing for vulnerable and low-income populations
Governance (G):
Does this company’s offering aid its customers in achieving governance goals by delivering innovations that:
a) Improve regulatory compliance
b) Increase transparency and democratization of water-related data, such as water quality and flooding information
c) Expand conservation efforts
d) Enable more efficient management of water-related assets