This is the funding for Remote Waters, a clean technology startup based in Chile, focused on water treatment for rural communities.
SQM Lithium Ventures announced the first “Simple Agreement for Future Equity” or SAFE , a contract that allows a startup to receive investment and establishes that the number of shares the investor receives will be determined at the time of a subsequent investment round that defines a price for the startup.
In this case, it is the company Remote Waters , a “clean technology” startup, based in Chile, focused on water treatment for rural communities.
SQM Lithium Ventures is the corporate venture capital fund of SQM's lithium business and this investment is part of the seed series of the Corporate Acceleration Program in partnership with Endeavor.
The completion of the seed series marks a significant milestone for Remote Waters , because it validates its pioneering approach to water treatment for rural communities.
This startup was born to solve the problems of contaminated water , and convert it into water useful for drinking, agricultural or industrial use, for communities in Latin America.
He added that “through the advisory boards, four in total, the academic component, and the one-on-one discussions with industry experts, mentors from SQM and Endeavor, the program allowed us to re-examine our business model and our ability to scale. Everything points to us becoming a global business.”
The urgency of drinking water
According to the WHO, diseases caused by drinking unimproved and poorly sanitized water account for 4% of all deaths and 6% of all diseases worldwide.
Therefore, Remote Waters designs, integrates, installs, and maintains water purification systems that provide clean and safe drinking water to communities without access to it. This system eliminates contaminants and viruses, minimizing any risk of infection.
This solution generates no CO2 emissions when integrated with solar energy and is independent of the electrical grid . Furthermore, it is easy to transport and quick to install, facilitating operation while also being environmentally sustainable.
Remote Waters designs solutions for various water sources, integrating solar technology and predictive maintenance with artificial intelligence to optimize in real time and minimize operating costs. This achieves autonomous operation that can be remotely controlled .
“The importance of water resources, at an international level, has been gaining increasing value for countries and their communities, especially those close to operations such as mining, where the management of water resources plays a crucial role in the operation ,” said María de los Ángeles Romo, director of SQM Lithium Ventures.
Remote Waters was one of 15 companies selected by ProChile to attend COP28 in Dubai, showcasing its climate change adaptation technology. It is also a B Corp, a "Made in Chile" company, and has received funding from CORFO through the "Semilla Inicia" and "Growth" programs of Start-Up Chile, the public accelerator program.
Finally, Mark Fones, Vice President of Strategy and M&A Lithium, who was part of the demo day for SQM, the moment when they decided to continue their support, explained that “the urgency for water is already an issue that concerns us in the present and we think it is essential to support entrepreneurs who see an opportunity in the maximum use of water as a resource.”
According to the executive, the challenge for a business like Remote Waters is to be able to scale quickly and globally to bring these types of solutions to communities in isolated or critical situations.
“At SQM Lithium Ventures, we are committed to funding these types of initiatives not only to promote the scaling of related technologies and businesses, but also, through them, to contribute to the quality of life of multiple communities ,” Fones concluded.