Press release -
BLUEWATER ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN DENVER, COLORADO-BASED MICROLYZE TO SUPPORT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIAL ROLLOUT
Stockholm, Sweden, September 4, 2018 – Bluewater, a global leader in innovative water technology and solutions, today announced a US $500,000 investment in Microlyze, which has developed a real-time water testing device to empower American utilities with accurate, reliable and cost-effective measurement of water quality collected directly from households. The investment will help Denver-based Microlyze accelerate the roll-out of its Waterlyzer, a device that easily attaches to a smartphone, analyzes tap water and identifies contaminants of concern in real-time.
“The Waterlyzer is a complete game changer, allowing consumers to discover what they are drinking and enabling communities to uncover potential threats while helping authorities to act before an incident becomes a crisis, or worse, a catastrophe,” said Anders Jacobson, President and Chief Strategy Officer at Bluewater. He notes that the crowd-sourced aggregated data collected with the Waterlyzer will generate a unique data map capable of illustrating contamination deposits in real-time and further strengthening the accuracy and efficiency of remediation by utilities.
Ari Kaufman, CEO and founder of Microlyze (photo below), said the Waterlyzer will promote the first from-the-tap collection of water quality data in mass and drive consumer activation; instigate utility and governmental response; and ultimately lead to improved public health.
“It seems like we hear about a new water contamination crisis almost every day, from lead to bacteria, Flint, Michigan to Tampa, Florida. The progressive water utilities in major urban areas know that conditions that lead to these disasters are not unique to those communities and can happen in their own cities as well. Leveraging a citizen’s desire to know ‘What’s in my water?’ will fuel the broad collection of critical information and ultimately fuel preventative remediation and overall improvement of aged and failing water systems.”
The Bluewater investment will help to support Microlyze as it scales product development and deployment and solidifies significant market opportunities. In addition, Microlyze was recently named a winner of the Imagine H2O Urban Water Scarcity Challenge, offering up to $1,000,000 (USD) in cash awards and investment to three overall winners who addressed urban drinking water challenges in a world where the UN predicts some 5.7 billion people will be living in urban areas running short of drinking water by 2050.
“The Bluewater investment is a substantial contribution to our oversubscribed seed round of more than $1.5M. However, Bluewater is also a very strategic partner. Their expertise, commercial reach and logistical resources offer Microlyze unique advantages that will be germane to the business. We are thrilled to have their support,” said Ari Kaufman.
The Waterlyzer tests for acceptable levels of contaminants in potable water that include: lead, chlorine, bacteria, nitrates, nitrates, pesticides, water hardness, pH and other heavy metals.
A single drop is all it takes to analyze water from any tap. While a sample is placed on the Waterlyzer sensor and analyzed, the results are translated into easy-to-understand actionable reports on the user’s smartphone screen. Simultaneously that data is shared with Microlyze and the utilities via the cloud where it is integrated with information from surrounding homes in the neighborhood, city, state and across the country.
Microlyze plans to expand its water quality measurement solution, the contaminants that it tests and the data map that it is developing across the globe – to include both developed and developing nations – as well as into the industrial landscape.
“We are very confident that the Bluewater investment in Microlyze will help the corporation drive interest and in the USA and abroad and allow it to grow over the coming 3 – 5 years,” said Anders Jacobson.
About Bluewater
Bluewater is a world leader innovating, manufacturing, and commercializing water purification technologies and solutions that harness the company’s patented reverse osmosis technology to remove virtually all pollutants from water, including lead, bacteria, pesticides, medical residues, chlorine, micro plastic fibres and lime-scale. Visit http://www.bluewatergroup.com
About Microlyze
Microlyze is a digital biotech company that provides utilities and consumers with actionable data about one of the world’s most vital natural resources, water. Microlyze and the Waterlyzer will empower utilities to better provide the public with pure, safe and potable water. The key to better water lies in the understanding of what's coming out of each and every tap. Visit http://www.microlyze.com/
Media Contacts:
David Noble, PR & Communication Director Blue, david.noble@bluewatergroup.com or +44 7785 302 694
Ari Kaufman, CEO Microlyze akaufman@microlyze.com
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About Blue
Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Blue is an investment company that serves as a catalyst for innovations that can solve some of the major challenges facing our planet and all living on it. Blue’s mission is to find, engage with, invest in and support entrepreneurs, innovators and businesses driven by the desire to deliver tangible, sustainable solutions that can benefit human wellbeing and planetary health.www.blueab.se