Water startups gain access to international investors in Aarhus

No less than 40 startups – including seven Danish startups – have just been selected to pitch at the Tech Tour – Water Tech event, which will be held at The Spring in Aarhus on May 10-11, 2023. The first investor event was focusing exclusively on water technology solutions.

Interest in participating has been high. More than 80 companies from 24 different countries applying to pitch to investors and other industry players – and 40 start-ups have made it through the eye of the needle. They are all start-ups that work with water solutions and each in their own way contributes to solving the world’s water problems.

Aarhus-based Aguardio is among the selected.

Among the selected start-ups is Danish Aguardio, which is based in The Spring in Aarhus. Aguardio produces solutions that help people lead a more sustainable and climate-friendly lifestyle by reducing the amount of water and energy used in the shower. Thomas Munch-Laursen, founder and CEO of Aguardio, says about the opportunity:

We are super excited and grateful to have the opportunity to pitch our solutions at the Tech Tour – Water Tech event in Aarhus. It is a unique opportunity for Aguardio to meet with leading Water Tech investors, stakeholders and technology companies who are all working to solve current and future challenges in Water Tech.

Tech Tour will hold events in Helsinki, Oslo and Aarhus during the spring. In a report by Dealroom.co and Silicon Valley Bank, Nordic startups raised the second highest annual venture capital funding ever in 2022. This is despite the economic downturn. This says something about how interesting the Nordic startup ecosystem is – not least for investors.

This is also reflected in the panel selection, which includes American Breakthrough Energy Ventures, founded by Bill Gates in 2015.

International recognition of Danish water technology

The success of bringing such a significant investor event to Aarhus has been a process between Clean – Denmark’s Environmental Cluster and Tech Tour. Clean works to make Danish companies world-leading in the environmental field and therefore has a broad contact to Danish environmental start-ups. Michael Johansen, Head of Business Development at Clean, says:

We are proud that we managed to get so many international investors and startups within water to gather at The Spring in Aarhus in May. It is a testament to the international recognition of Danish water technology, and with the staging in The Spring, Danish water startups get the home court advantage, so to speak, which can make a difference, also in the longer term.

The event is held in collaboration with Aarhus Municipality, Kromann Reumert, Aarhus Vand and CLEAN. As well as other partners such as Water Valley Denmark, Business Lighthouse for Water Technology, International Cleantech Network, Startup Aarhus and Water Alliance.

Read more about the event and the other selected companies