Event Information

According to the World Health Organization, water scarcity affects every continent and affects 4 out of every 10 people. In addition, the United Nations predicts that two-thirds of people on the globe may be living in water-stressed conditions by the year 2025 if present global consumption patterns continue. The In California, Gov. Schwarzenegger said Californians face mandatory water rationing if they do not drastically reduce consumption and leading experts predict that there is a 50% chance that Lake Mead, a key source of water for 25 million people or approximately 10% of the US population, will run dry by 2021. But the problems are not just linked to water itself, as the California Energy Commission calculates that moving and treating water uses 19% of California's electricity and 30% of its natural gas. All of these issues in a water market that is estimated to be worth $500 billion per annum!

So what does this mean for entreprenuers, venture capitalists and Silicon Valley? According to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), based on data from Thomson Reuters, Venture Capitalists invested over $1.9 billion in clean technologies during 2009, representing 11% of the total venture capital funding. While this was down from the record investment levels in Cleantech seen in 2008, one thing remained unchanged; investments in water related deals represented a very small percentage of funding, with less $50 million invested during 2008 and 2009.

But while the investment dollars to date have been small, the fundamental premise of water investing appears strong: demand is high and supply is low – with investors' attention to the sector going up, and large corporations, as well as societies across the world, in need of new solutions.

Join our panel of experts for a lively and opionated discussion on this topic.

• What is being done today to address critical water problems and is it enough?
• Why have we seen relatively low level of water investments from venture firms to date?
• What do the most recent funding trends say about interest in cleantech and water?
• What new technologies are emerging to address global and domestic water issues?
• What are the key challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs trying to enter this market?

Moderator: Gordon Ho, Partner, Cooley

Confirmed speakers include:

• Wayne Hedden, Co-Leader Cleantech Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Lev J. Leytes, Chairman, Generation Capital, LLC
• Tamin Pechet, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Imagine H20
• Rachel Sheinbein, Senior Associate, Energy & Materials Group, CMEA Capital
• Rob Steiner, Co-Founder, WaterSmart Software

To register, please visit the event website.