Solving the water crisis out of thin air with Brian Sheng of Aquaria

Solving the water crisis out of thin air with Brian Sheng of Aquaria

March 26, 2024

00:00 / 01:04

Brian Sheng is a self-funded entrepreneur and co-founder of Aquaria, a company that seeks to create resilient water infrastructure by extracting water from the air. A former venture capitalist who started his own VC firm at 18, Brian transitioned to the operational side of startups with the onset of the pandemic.

Here's what we talked about in our half-hour chat:

💦 Brian's company, Aquaria, seeks to create water infrastructure that doesn't need any pipes or construction

🏝️ Aquaria's water harvesting technology is ideal for residential communities, especially those off-grid or in locations with limited access to clean water

🌊 Aquaria's $26 million project in Hawaii to service a community of 1,000 homes

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 What it's like to have your brother as a co-founder

👨 Several reference to Tatooine from Star Wars (this emoji is Luke Skywalker, obviously)

#WaterFromAir #SustainableLiving #TechInnovation #ClimateTech #Tatooine

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A Breath of Fresh Air: Making Water Out of Thin Air

A recent podcast hosted by Ryan Grant Little brought into focus an unusual, almost sci-fi-esque solution to the water scarcity problem the world is facing: extracting water from air. Brian Sheng, a founder and investor who's previously made a successful leap from the VC side to the operator side, is the brains behind this operation.

Sheng's company, Aquaria, has developed technology that, in a rather Star Wars-inspired fashion, can literally pluck water from the atmosphere. It's a concept that seems to oscillate between 'Is this actually real?' and 'When can I get one?' amongst listeners. Yet, it's as real as it gets, and the implications for areas hit by water scarcity are vast.

Aquaria's technology, while sounding like something out of a sci-fi novel, has a stunningly simple premise. Think of those droplets that form on your cold can of beer on a hot summer day. Now, imagine that happening on a much larger scale, using novel materials to manage heat exchange and dissipation, and voila – you have water.

The company offers solutions in varying sizes, from the compact HydroPixel to the larger HydroPak and HydroPakX. The former is suitable for a lone ranger, while the latter can supply water to an entire off-grid home. Sheng's products are a reflection of the company's grand vision: a world where tap water can flow directly from air, negating the need for pipes or construction.

Notably, the company has been almost entirely bootstrapped by Sheng himself, who's invested a majority of the $8 million raised to date. The firm emerged in the market only five months ago, revealing a masterclass in bootstrapping, particularly considering the company's launch coincided with the onset of the global pandemic.

Despite the challenges, Sheng remains optimistic. He believes that the newest technologies being funded today hold a lot of potential. He points to his own company as an example of the novel solutions being developed to tackle global issues such as water scarcity.

In conclusion, Sheng's Aquaria is a reminder that sometimes the solutions to our problems may be right above our heads, if only we look up. As they say, the sky's the limit. Or should we say, the source?