OCEO Water

OCEO Water, founded in 2016, is a Bengaluru-based company addressing the challenge of accessing safe drinking water. The company was established by a team that includes Vikram Gulecha, Mahendra Dantewadiya, Hasmukh Gulecha, and Rajeev Krishna. The founders have diverse backgrounds; Vikram Gulecha was previously involved in a social enterprise and his family's real estate business, Mahendra Dantewadiya handled a family packaging business, Hasmukh Gulecha managed operations at a theme park, and Rajeev Krishna is an electronics engineer. The idea for OCEO originated when Vikram Gulecha, while working in his family's real estate business, identified the high installation and maintenance costs associated with traditional water purifiers.

The company operates on a water purification-as-a-service (WaaS) model, providing IoT-enabled smart water purifiers to customers at no upfront cost for the device, installation, or maintenance. Revenue is generated through a pay-as-you-go system, where users pay a fee per liter of water consumed, purchasing 'water credits' via a mobile and web application. This business model targets end consumers in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas, as well as offices, aiming to make safe drinking water more affordable. The company has received seed funding from investors including MassChallenge, ClimateLaunchpad, IIMA Ventures, and AIRmaker.

OCEO's core product is a smart water purifier that connects to the internet, enabling real-time monitoring of water quality and consumption. The device employs a multi-stage filtration process that includes sediment filtration, activated carbon, reverse osmosis (RO), and mineralization to ensure water purity. A key feature is its IoT connectivity, which facilitates predictive maintenance by allowing the company to track filter usage and automatically send replacements when needed. The system is designed for users to be able to perform simple maintenance tasks themselves, such as changing filter cartridges. In addition to their standard purifiers, OCEO also offers a portable, non-electric filtration kit called OCEO Flexi, suitable for rural areas and emergency situations. The company started its commercial distribution in Bengaluru and has plans to expand to other Indian cities like Chennai and Hyderabad.

Keywords: water purification as a service, pay-as-you-go water, IoT water purifier, smart water filter, drinking water startup, water technology, India water market, affordable water solutions, real-time water monitoring, predictive maintenance, residential water purification, office water solutions, water credit system, sustainable water access, B2C water service, Vikram Gulecha, OCEO Flexi, water quality data, decentralized water network, home water systems