KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): Funding to startups working on water purification- and conservation-related technologies has not dried up in recent quarters, even amid a broad global contraction in venture investment.

In a report on Monday (Feb 12), Crunchbase, which tracks trends, investments and news of global companies from startups to the Fortune 1000, said investment totals for 2023 were actually higher than during the much bubblier startup financing climate of 2021.

And this year is also off to a strong start, it said.

The firm said for a sense of how the numbers compare, we charted annual investment since 2019 to companies in the water, water purification and water transportation categories.

Crunchbase said the biggest rounds go to companies taking on extremely large problems, commonly tapping global markets from the start.

The firm said per the World Water Forum, today more than 650 million people in almost 40 countries suffer from water scarcity.

It said groundwater supplies worldwide are under serious threat due to population growth, industrial development, overuse, climate change and poor water management.

It said startups are not promoting overnight solutions, but they are offering some potentially big improvements over the status quo, adding that that has been sufficient to attract a steady stream of funding.