Irish-founded water management software company Klir has completed a $17.5 million growth financing round, combining a $10 million Series B equity investment with a $7.5 million credit facility from CIBC Innovation Banking. The funding will enable the Toronto-headquartered company to accelerate expansion of its operational data hub serving drinking water and wastewater utilities across North America and beyond.
Blending Equity With Non-Dilutive Credit
The financing structure brings together continued backing from Insight Partners, which previously led Klir’s $16 million Series A round in November 2021, with growth credit from CIBC’s Innovation Banking unit. This approach allows the company to strengthen its balance sheet while maintaining operational flexibility and preserving founder control. CIBC Innovation Banking has deployed over $11.2 billion across more than 700 technology and life science companies since its founding in 2018, making it a significant player in the North American venture debt market.
The deal brings Klir’s total funding to approximately $29.7 million across five rounds, according to Tracxn data. Earlier investors including Bowery Capital, Spider Capital, and SaaS Ventures participated in the company’s seed funding in 2021.
Founder-Led Ownership Signals Long-Term Commitment
Klir has positioned itself as an independently controlled operational hub, emphasizing that the company remains founder- and employee-controlled. Co-founders David Lynch and Elaine Kelly, who originally met while working with European utilities and regulators on water management IT systems, have maintained decision-making authority through successive funding rounds. This ownership structure addresses a common concern among utilities, which typically evaluate software platforms as multi-decade investments and prioritize vendor stability.
The company currently employs approximately 60 staff across offices in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Ireland, with plans for significant headcount expansion over the coming year to support customer onboarding, product development, and customer success functions.
Technology Platform Addresses Operational Complexity
Klir’s cloud-based platform centralizes compliance and operational data across water utility programs into a unified system. The software integrates with existing SCADA, GIS, LIMS, and billing systems, providing what the company describes as a single source of truth for regulatory compliance, sampling, permitting, and inspections. The platform includes an AI-powered assistant called Boots, designed to reduce administrative workload in high-stakes operational environments where accuracy is critical.
Notable customers include the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which manages over 1,000 regulatory permits and 300,000 water quality samples annually, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The company also serves utilities in Canada and Australia, including Queensland water authorities and Halifax Water in Nova Scotia.
A Sector Ripe For Digital Transformation
The funding arrives amid accelerating digital investment across the water sector. According to Bluefield Research, the North American digital water market is projected to grow from $11.5 billion in 2024 to $23.8 billion by 2033, representing an 8.4% compound annual growth rate. Cumulative spending on digital water solutions in the United States and Canada is expected to reach $169.5 billion over the next decade.
Several converging factors are driving this transformation. The water utility workforce vacancy rate in the US and Canada has doubled since 2015, according to the US Department of Labor and Statistics Canada, with approximately one-third of water utility workers expected to retire within the next decade. This demographic shift is creating urgent demand for automation and data management tools that can capture institutional knowledge and reduce manual administrative burden.
Simultaneously, aging infrastructure continues to strain operational budgets. The US water utility sector faced an estimated $110 billion funding gap in 2024, according to McKinsey & Co., while utilities navigate increasingly complex regulatory requirements around contaminants, water quality, and environmental compliance.
Generative AI Meets Critical Infrastructure
Klir plans to use proceeds to continue developing its generative AI capabilities, building functionality specifically designed for operational environments where reliability and accuracy are paramount. The company’s approach reflects broader industry trends, as utilities increasingly explore AI and machine learning applications for predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and process optimization.
The company’s enterprise-ready infrastructure and connected workflows are built to meet the reliability expectations of utilities managing critical public infrastructure. With administrative processes consuming over 60% of labor effort at many water authorities, according to the company, automation and centralized data management represent significant efficiency opportunities.
