Water data management and analytics startup Aquatic Informatics has been acquired by global science and tech conglomerate Danaher, joining Danaher’s Water Quality Platform.
Danaher acquired Vancouver-based Aquatic Informatics from XPV Water Partners, an investment fund focused on water-related businesses. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Aquatic touts itself as “the world’s largest water data management company.”
Aquatic Informatics touts itself as “the world’s largest water data management company.” It claims to provide water management solutions to over 1,000 environmental monitoring organizations across 60 countries.
“We have built Aquatic Informatics into one of the largest water-focused software providers in the world over the past 17 years, and we still see a tremendous amount of growth potential,” said Ed Quilty, Aquatic Informatics’ founder and CEO. “We’re excited to join our new colleagues on the journey as we aspire to empower industry experts to make data driven, smart decisions with timely water insights.”
Quilty, who previously worked as a river ecologist, founded Aquatic in 2003. The startup, which also has offices in Denver, Colorado and Australia, aims to protect human health and reduce environmental impact via information tech solutions for all types of water. Its water management platform centralizes data, simplifies analysis, automates workflows, predicts issues, shares information, and ensures regulatory compliance.
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In July 2017, XPV Water Partners acquired a controlling interest in Aquatic Informatics from Renewal Funds, financing Aquatic’s merger with fellow Vancouver-based software startup Watermarq Technologies, which operated WaterTrax and Linko Technology.
Aquatic’s product offerings include AQUARIUS water data analytics platforms, WaterTrax compliance and electronic reporting tools, and Linko wastewater pretreatment software.
In January, Aquatic raised $8 million in debt financing from CIBC Innovation Banking to fund strategic acquisitions.
Earlier this month, the startup announced a new automated, cloud-based version of its Linko data management platform, which designed to help food service establishments better manage and ensure compliance surrounding fats, oils, and grease.
“Aquatic Informatics has developed industry-leading capabilities managing large data sets and helping customers improve decision-making to enable better outcomes,” said Kevin Klau, Danaher vice president and group executive responsible for the company’s water quality portfolio. “With our deep applications expertise, we can combine hardware, software, and services together to help environmental, municipal, and industrial customers save money, improve asset performance and reduce risk.”
“Uniting Aquatic Informatics together with Hach’s Claros offering will accelerate our ability to solve the most critical problems for customers across the water cycle,” Klau added.
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Danaher’s Water Quality Platform is a portfolio of Danaher-owned water quality optimization companies. Formed through strategic acquisitions, it aims to address critical challenges in the water sector. Danaher’s portfolio helps municipal, environmental, and industrial clients manage water analytics, chemicals, and treatment via hardware, software, and service. It includes other water tech companies like Hach, ChemTreat, OTT HyrdoMet, Pall Water, Sea-Bird Scientific, and London, Ontario-based Trojan Technologies.
Some of Aquatic’s clients include Water Survey Canada, the University of British Columbia, the Canadian National Research Council, the US National Parks Service, and Alcoa of Australia.
“We want to congratulate Ed Quilty and the team at Aquatic Informatics,” said Dave Henderson, managing partner at XPV Water Partners. “We are proud to have partnered with them in scaling the business into a global digital water leader and we are confident they are well-positioned for continued strong growth in the future.”
Image source Jon Flobrant via Unsplash
