Israel Saves The Planet

[Rat in the Hat]

TaKaDu Has VCs Buzzing About Smart Water MonitoringTaKaDu has VCs buzzing about smart water monitoring | VentureBeat

More than four and a half billion gallons of water are lost in transit every day in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey — and 25 to 35 percent of water is lost every year worldwide, according to the World Bank.

Now a young Israeli company called TaKaDu has developed an innovative solution to this multibillion dollar problem.

Water loss costs the U.S. $2.6 billion every year, and the world $14 billion. When you add in insurance premiums for coverage against the damage that result from leaks and pipe bursts, these costs increase substantially.

“That water has been moved, it has been treated, [and] as it leaks, it might be causing property damage,” said Peter Williams, chief technology officer for the Big Green Innovations group at IBM. “The economic value of [preventing leaks] is compelling.”

As water networks have aged, the challenge has grown. TaKaDu’s answer to this problem is to use the data that water utilities already collect. It claims to have developed a complex and proprietary mathematical algorithm that can be used to predict and detect leaks, bursts, inefficiencies and equipment failures — enabling utilities to quickly prevent and respond to breaks and minimize water loss and repair costs. Infrastructure monitoring therefore enables utilities to make the most of their service and pipe replacement budgets. Here’s what its web-based dashboard looks like:

“Utilities already have meters all over their networks, transmitting data all the time,” said Amir Peleg, TakaDu’s founder and CEO. “They measure water flow, pressure and quality. I asked several utilities what they do with the data and they said almost nothing. They just log the data. They use it for operational needs, not for early detection.”

TaKaDu, however, uses this information, combined with data gleaned from other sources, to identify local and regional consumption baselines, as well as daily and weekly use patterns. Common data sources include utilities’ supervisory systems, which keep tabs on water turbidity, acidity and temperature, as well as public weather services.

“TaKaDu is the first company to take all that data and analyze it and provide information to the utility,” said Heather Landis, an analyst at cleantech-focused Lux Research. “They are operating in their own space.”

Last summer, TaKaDu raised $3.5 million from Israeli venture capital firms Gemini Israel Funds and Giza Venture Capital. Peleg then assembled a team of researchers with advanced degrees in computer science and mathematics — many of whom, like Peleg, are garduates of Talpiot, the Israeli military’s elite science and technology training program. Together, they spent a year formulating and tweaking the algorithms that are now the basis for TaKaDu’s water monitoring platform.

These algorithms borrow from network theory and machine learning to identify correlations between the many variables involved in water distribution. To illustrate, Peleg offered a simple example based on readings from meters in two different neighborhoods served by the same utility.

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[JStone]

TaKaDu Has VCs Buzzing About Smart Water Monitoring
TaKaDu has VCs buzzing about smart water monitoring | VentureBeat

More than four and a half billion gallons of water are lost in transit every day in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey — and 25 to 35 percent of water is lost every year worldwide, according to the World Bank.

Now a young Israeli company called TaKaDu has developed an innovative solution to this multibillion dollar problem.

Water loss costs the U.S. $2.6 billion every year, and the world $14 billion. When you add in insurance premiums for coverage against the damage that result from leaks and pipe bursts, these costs increase substantially.

“That water has been moved, it has been treated, [and] as it leaks, it might be causing property damage,” said Peter Williams, chief technology officer for the Big Green Innovations group at IBM. “The economic value of [preventing leaks] is compelling.”

As water networks have aged, the challenge has grown. TaKaDu’s answer to this problem is to use the data that water utilities already collect. It claims to have developed a complex and proprietary mathematical algorithm that can be used to predict and detect leaks, bursts, inefficiencies and equipment failures — enabling utilities to quickly prevent and respond to breaks and minimize water loss and repair costs. Infrastructure monitoring therefore enables utilities to make the most of their service and pipe replacement budgets. Here’s what its web-based dashboard looks like:

“Utilities already have meters all over their networks, transmitting data all the time,” said Amir Peleg, TakaDu’s founder and CEO. “They measure water flow, pressure and quality. I asked several utilities what they do with the data and they said almost nothing. They just log the data. They use it for operational needs, not for early detection.”

TaKaDu, however, uses this information, combined with data gleaned from other sources, to identify local and regional consumption baselines, as well as daily and weekly use patterns. Common data sources include utilities’ supervisory systems, which keep tabs on water turbidity, acidity and temperature, as well as public weather services.

“TaKaDu is the first company to take all that data and analyze it and provide information to the utility,” said Heather Landis, an analyst at cleantech-focused Lux Research. “They are operating in their own space.”

Last summer, TaKaDu raised $3.5 million from Israeli venture capital firms Gemini Israel Funds and Giza Venture Capital. Peleg then assembled a team of researchers with advanced degrees in computer science and mathematics — many of whom, like Peleg, are garduates of Talpiot, the Israeli military’s elite science and technology training program. Together, they spent a year formulating and tweaking the algorithms that are now the basis for TaKaDu’s water monitoring platform.

These algorithms borrow from network theory and machine learning to identify correlations between the many variables involved in water distribution. To illustrate, Peleg offered a simple example based on readings from meters in two different neighborhoods served by the same utility.

“Imagine there is always a 20 percent difference between meter readings,” Peleg said

 

[JStone]

Business Week Magazine: TaKaDu Saves Water with Data Crunching. Israeli Startup TaKaDu Uses Software Analysis To Monitor Water and Wastewater Systems for Leaks and Other Faults, Saving Utilities a Bundle
TaKaDu Saves Water with Data Crunching - BusinessWeek

Water scarcity is one of the biggest problems on the planet. There isn't enough clean drinking water to go around, yet an estimated 25 percent to 30 percent of treated water is lost through leaks in aging distribution networks. Such losses cost water utilities an estimated $14 billion annually, according to the World Bank. In developing countries alone, the volume of water lost would serve the daily needs of nearly 200 million people, the report says. Some of the worst waste occurs in developed countries. Losses can run as high as 50 percent in cities where it is prohibitively expensive to dig up the streets to replace ancient pipes.

Enter TaKaDu, an Israeli startup. TaKaDu's smart data analysis software can be used to detect leaks, breaks, and equipment failures in water systems, enabling utilities to respond more rapidly to problems and efficiently minimizing water loss. It is among 31 companies named Sept. 1 by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum as Tech Pioneers offering new technologies or business models that could have a positive impact on peoples' lives.

Potential "Game Changer?"
TaKaDu's solution allows utility personnel to monitor operations via a Web interface that provides real-time alerts, reports, and network views and to receive notifications by instant message or e-mail.

Customers include Britain's largest water group, Thames Water; Jerusalem water utility HaGihon; Evides Waterbedrijf, the No. 2 water utility in the Netherlands; and several utilities in the Asia-Pacific region. TaKaDu charges a monthly fee for its service, which is marketed through partners and resellers, such as IBM (IBM) and Schneider Electric (SBGSY). No up-front capital outlay is required from the utilities.

"Clearly the water industry needs a game changer," says TakaDu Chief Executive Amir Peleg, a serial entrepreneur who sold his previous startup, online behavioral targeting and advertising firm YaData, to Microsoft (MSFT). "There is a huge opportunity, both in financial terms and global impact."

 

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[JStone]

World Economic Forum Picks Israel’s Takadu as one of its 2011 Technology Pioneers
World Economic Forum Picks Israel’s Takadu as one of its 2011 Technology Pioneers | Venture Capital Cafe

The World Economic Forum in Dabos selected thirty-one companies from 13 countries and five continents to receive an award for visionary accomplishments in the fields of clean tech, health and information technologies/new media. The companies were selected by a committee of leading academics, journalists, technologists and venture capitalists from around the world.

This year’s winners included a higher number of clean tech companies, Amongst the 31 companies to receive the honor is Israeli startup Takadu, creator of a SaaS product for water distribution networks through the adoption of a grid approach.Takadu’s product enables utility companies to detect leaks, bursts and equipment failures as well as alerting personnel of any problems through email and SMS. Takadu’s business model consists of charging a monthly fee from its clients, which already include the Thames Water company and other utility companies in Israel and Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 2009 by Amir Peleg, a serial entrepreneur who previously founded Yadata (acquired by Microsoft in 2008), Unipier and EVS (went public in 1991) currently serves as CEO and its investors include Gemini Israel Funds and Giza Venture Capital.

By combining smart IT and software-as-a-service, TaKaDu is radically improving the efficiency of water networks, significantly increasing the world’s water supply. It is also reducing energy consumption since water production and distribution require a lot of energy, so preventing water loss also prevents this waste.