Hydro Venture Partners

What Hydro Venture Partners does

Hydro Venture Partners is a private venture capital firm founded in 2008 and based in Colorado (with city listed as Boulder in firmographics and Denver in operating descriptions), specializing exclusively in early-stage investments in the water sector. The firm operates two interconnected investment platforms: a Technology Platform targeting Smart Water, Water Quality, and Water Reuse and Conservation themes, and a Distributed Infrastructure Platform focused on Alternative Water Supply and Off-channel Water Storage. It sources deals through strategic partnerships and capital syndications, targeting Series A and Series B rounds with deal sizes of $1M to $5M and investment sizes of $150K to $1M over a 3-5 year horizon. Its portfolio includes one active investment in Cerahelix (PicoHelix ceramic membrane technology) and three exited investments — NC Water LLC, NC Water Operations, and Valor Water Analytics — with the exits occurring in 2016 and 2017.

The firm is led by two partners: Kinney Johnson, a founding partner with 30+ years of venture capital experience including prior founding roles at Capital Health Venture Partners and Sequel Venture Partners, four public-company board seats, and 30+ personal early-stage investments; and John Chahbandour, who brings 25 years of operational water sector experience including founding MWH Global's Strategic Water Management practice and serving as President of North America for Schlumberger Water Services. The firm is augmented by an advisory board that includes Bob Burgess (former CEO of Pulte Homes), Stephen McConahey (Co-Founder of Iron Gate Capital), and Addison Piper (former CEO of Piper Jaffray), providing cross-sector executive reach for deal sourcing and capital formation.

Hydro Venture Partners makes money through venture capital returns — equity stakes in early-stage water technology and distributed infrastructure companies exited via acquisition or IPO over a 3-5 year horizon. There is no disclosed revenue, fund size, AUM, management fee schedule, or LP base in the available source material, and no funding rounds have been documented for the firm itself. The firm maintains a small team of 1-10 employees, an active website, and an operating status, but no investment activity is documented after 2017.

Name

Hydro Venture Partners

Legal name

Hydro Venture Partners

Website

https://hydrovp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hydro Venture Partners is a Colorado-based venture capital firm founded in 2008 that invests exclusively in early-stage water technology and distributed infrastructure companies through Series A and Series B rounds, leveraging deep water-sector operating expertise and a high-profile advisory board.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Resource Efficiency Funds (Water, Waste, Recycling, Efficiency) (FSANAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Strategic Real Assets & Infrastructure Venture Investing (FSANAHAN)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Water sector investing
• Early-stage water technology
• Distributed water infrastructure
• Series A equity investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Returns generated through equity investments in early-stage water technology and distributed infrastructure companies, exiting via acquisitions or IPOs over a 3-5 year investment horizon

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hydro Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage water-sector companies through two distinct platforms: a Technology Platform targeting smart water, water quality, and water reuse/conservation opportunities, and a Distributed Infrastructure Platform targeting alternative water supply and off-channel water storage. The firm deploys deal sizes of $1M–$5M with individual investment sizes of $150K–$1M, primarily at Series A and Series B stages, with a 3–5 year investment horizon.

Product overview

Hydro Venture Partners is a venture capital firm operating a unified investment platform focused exclusively on the water sector. The firm offers two interconnected investment platforms: (1) a Technology Platform investing in early-stage water technology companies covering Smart Water, Water Quality, and Water Reuse/Conservation themes; and (2) a Distributed Infrastructure Platform investing in Alternative Water Supply and Off-channel Water Storage solutions. The firm's portfolio includes active investments such as Cerahelix (PicoHelix ceramic membrane technology) and exited investments including NC Water LLC, NC Water Operations, and Valor Water Analytics. Investment criteria target deals of $1M to $5M with investment sizes of $150K to $1M in Series A or Series B rounds with a 3-5 year investment horizon.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Technology Investment Platform A venture capital investment mandate targeting early-stage companies in smart water, water quality, and water reuse/conservation technologies. Aimed at entrepreneurs and founders in the water-technology sector seeking Series A or Series B equity capital.
• Distributed Water Infrastructure Investment Platform A venture capital investment mandate targeting alternative water supply and off-channel water storage infrastructure projects and companies. Aimed at operators and developers of distributed water infrastructure assets seeking Series A or Series B equity capital.

Named customers4 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Equilibrium Capital: Sustainable infrastructure investment manager with significant water and resource-recovery focus. Comparable in water-infrastructure thesis, though typically operating at later stages and larger check sizes than HVP.
• XPV Capital: Water-focused growth equity firm investing across the water value chain from treatment to smart water/IT. The closest pure direct peer to Hydro Venture Partners given shared water-only thesis and similar stage focus on commercial-stage water companies.
• Sequel Venture Partners: Colorado-based early-stage venture firm where Hydro Venture Partners' founding partner Kinney Johnson is also a founding partner. Directly comparable in stage, geography, and generalist-leaning clean tech/health/IT orientation, though HVP is more narrowly water-focused.
• Burnham Sterling & Co. Specialist investment bank and capital advisory firm focused on water, power, and transportation infrastructure. Comparable as a water-sector specialist intermediary that connects investors to infrastructure deals, overlapping HVP's distribution-infrastructure platform.
• Elemental Impact Partners: Impact-oriented investment platform focused on water, waste, and resource recovery infrastructure. Comparable as a mission-driven, water-and-infrastructure-focused investor with overlapping portfolio themes in distributed and alternative water supply.
• CleanTech Capital Partners: Clean-tech focused venture and growth firm with water, energy, and sustainability exposure. Comparable as a clean-tech specialist investor with overlapping water portfolio themes, though broader in sector scope.

Emerging players

• Water Foundry: Water-focused venture platform and accelerator connecting startups with water industry corporates and investors. Comparable as a water-specific deal-sourcing and venture platform, though more accelerator-oriented than HVP's lead-investor model.
• Inherent Group: Climate-and-water focused private investment platform spanning venture and growth. Comparable as a water/climate specialist investor, though broader in climate scope than HVP's pure water mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Brookfield Renewable Partners: Large-scale alternative asset manager with a significant water, renewable power, and infrastructure portfolio. Comparable as a major allocator into water-adjacent infrastructure, though operating at vastly larger scale and later stage than HVP.
• KKR Global Infrastructure: Major infrastructure platform investing across digital, energy transition, and water/utilities assets. Comparable in water-infrastructure exposure, but at fund sizes and stages orders of magnitude larger than HVP's Series A/B check range.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hydro-venture-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hydro Venture Partners