Klir founders Elaine Kelly (COO) and David Lynch (CEO). Image: Klir
The start-up, which works with water service authorities, will hire 10 more employees in Ireland and at its new US base in Nevada.
Klir, an Irish start-up building software for water authorities, has raised $3.1m in a fresh round of funding.
The start-up’s water assurance software platform is used by local authorities to manage and automate water systems, whether it’s wastewater or drinking water, by gathering and analysing data on usage.
It recently opened a new base in Nevada to service the US market. It has inked a deal with Southern Nevada Water Authority, which will use Klir’s software to monitor water services under its remit. The company has signed similar deals with customers in Canada and Australia.
“Water is now recognised as the number one global challenge facing species,” Klir chief executive David Lynch said.
“The good news is that the people tackling this issue are some of the most incredibly talented scientists, engineers and professionals the world has to offer. Klir will play a critical role in enabling these dedicated professionals to solve this problem for generations to come.”
The $3.1m investment round comes from US funds Bowery Capital, Spider Capital and SaaS Ventures, which all focus on backing software-as-a-service and business-to-business start-ups.
Other investors and corporates have taken notice of the potential for water compliance software. Last year US multinational Danaher acquired Canadian start-up Aquatic Informatics.
Lynch, who previously worked on water compliance at Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency and co-founded Klir with Elaine Kelly, said the funds will help the start-up to “scale rapidly”. It has 20 employees in Ireland and the US and will be adding 10 more to the ranks.
“Working internationally with world-class water providers, we know the industry is at an inflection point,” Lynch added.
“Smart water is now the standard but software to manage the myriad of systems is completely absent and we have been relying on software from other industries to plug the gap. It was overdue that a group of highly specialised and dedicated water technologists built a product for end-to-end water management, simply, easily and affordably.”
The start-up recently signed five new multi-year contracts with enterprise customers in the US, Canada and Australia.
“Klir is unlike any technology we have seen on the market before, and their deep-rooted knowledge and experience helps us remain compliant in the regulatory environment as we manage diverse permitting processes,” Dave Johnson of the Southern Nevada Water Authority said.
