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Even as Indian cities struggle to supply water to every household, they lose more than half of the piped water due to poorly managed infrastructure.
Bengaluru-based SmartTerra has built an AI-powered analytics platform to help water utilities reduce losses by detecting leaking pipes and other network conditions, as also faulty sensors and meters.
Founded in 2020 by Giridharan Sengaiah, Santhanam Navaneethan, and Gokul Krishna Govindu, the company developed the platform after pilots in India, the Philippines and Cambodia.
SmartTerra offers three solutions. The first is leak detection and network optimisation using city data and algorithms to pinpoint leakage points. “This minimises investigation efforts and reduces water wastage, enabling cities to expand services,” Sengaiah says.
Its second solution helps avert inaccurate meter readings and tampering. Its water usage analytics helps the utility optimise supply.
The third solution is predictive maintenance through data analysis to identify potential leakage sites and other repairs. This helps plan annual capital allocation towards infrastructure maintenance.
Custom solutions
SmartTerra has three kinds of client services. Its self-serve model is suited for clients who can handle data on their own, independently integrate the solution, and use the tool on a subscription basis without much assistance. The value-added service is for cities with good operations but weak tech teams. Here, the service provider offers technical support, data handling, insights, and uptime assurance, essentially becoming an integral part of the client’s operations, Sengaiah and Navaneethan explain.
Its on-field support model is geared for cities lacking data infrastructure. The company deploys on-field teams to validate, collect, and ensure data quality, essentially functioning as the analytics division of the utilities.
“Each model has distinct pricing based on subscription, value-added expertise, and connections. Overall, the charge is ₹60-80 per connection, in addition to onboarding charges,” Navaneethan says.
SmartTerra is currently working alongside L&T in Pune to improve the city’s water supply network and reduce losses. It is also working with French multinational SUEZ in Kolkata to reduce water supply losses for over 18,000 homes and businesses. In Singapore, it is working with the public utilities board to identify faulty meters.
Last year the company clocked revenue of ₹46 lakh, according to the co-founders.
SmartTerra is a boot-strapped start-up and has received grants from winning the Ashirvad Water Challenge. The company next aims to raise a $1-million seed round.
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