GI Water as a Service’s series A funding propels it to unicorn status

GI Water as a Service is MENA’s first water unicorn: Water treatment startup GI Water as a Service — a Saudi-based subsidiary of Germany’s GI Aqua Tech — hit a USD 1.03 bn valuation after its series A funding round in January, becoming “the first water sector unicorn in the MENA region,” according to a statement.

Funding details: The round included an “eight-figure” cash investment from Al Zamil Industry, Trade and Transport, and Alqunaibet Investment Fund for a 5.8% equity stake. The new funds will go to driving GI Water as a Service’s market expansion, accelerate R&D, and advance wastewater reuse initiatives across sectors like petroleum and poultry.

More rounds on the horizon: The company initially planned to delay additional fundraising until year-end, but now anticipates multiple rounds due to rising demand in Saudi Arabia and beyond. “We have a large pipeline of projects,” including prospects to work on major projects with Souda, Diriyah, SIRC, and Agri-Serve, CEO Sherif Desouky told EnterpriseAM.

The pitch: GI Water provides decentralized wastewater treatment through a pay-per-cubic-meter model, allowing clients to access services without upfront capital investment. Within a year, it delivered a major industrial wastewater project at Makkah's Magaz Al Adahi slaughterhouse.

Their flagship platform G-Nano is a wastewater treatment system that is branded as compact, scalable, and energy-efficient. The system continuously treats wastewater in 3 minutes — compared to 10-24 hours for traditional plants — and can be installed in small spaces, such as the parking lot of the Samhan Marriott in Diriyah, Desouky told EnterpriseAM. The company signed an MoU with Bahrain’s Tahliya Water Treatment earlier this year to integrate the system into Tahliya’s plants.

Looking to make an international splash: While maintaining a primary focus on Saudi Arabia, GI Water is also pursuing international expansion. The company is in talks with investors from Singapore and Japan to enter East Asia, and is targeting regions with urgent water treatment needs, including India, Latin America, and Africa. “We are establishing a factory to produce G-Nano locally, which will serve as a hub for the Gulf and African markets,” Desouky added.

What’s next? The company is currently developing solutions to improve treatment quality and cut costs. Future plans include tackling oil-related and high-salinity wastewater using the G-Nano system, with hopes of eventually signing agreements with leading energy companies, Desouky told us.

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Not Aramco’s first rodeo with Spiritus: Aramco inked an MoU in May of last year with Spiritus to explore potential investments in direct air capture to help address challenges related to the implementation of the technology due to its high costs.

ICYMI- Aramco Ventures is making significant investments in climate tech: Aramco Ventures participated in US-based CarbonCapture’s USD 80 mn Series A funding round in March 2024. Additionally, it invested USD 10 mn in Singapore-based renewable energy certificate service provider Redex back in November 2023, and backed new technology from American start-up Rondo Energy earlier in August 2023.