WaterStart, a water technology incubator based in the Las Vegas campus of the Desert Research Institute, has kicked off a new partnership with San Francisco- and Tel Aviv-based water intelligence company WINT and Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, NV. The pilot project features WINT’s data-driven platform, which uses pattern recognition and sophisticated algorithms to analyze water flow and equip real estate owners and managers with actionable insights that cut costs and protect against costly water damage.
This initiative comes in the wake of Nevada and Israel’s signing of a memorandum of understanding on water innovation, marking what is reportedly a first-of-its-kind collaboration agreement between a U.S. state and Israel.
The deal — reached between Nevada’s WaterStart public-private joint venture and Israel’s National Technological Innovation Authority at an event organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — paves the way for Israeli water technology companies to eventually set up research and production facilities in the notoriously arid state of Nevada. The aims of the agreement are to intensify mutual cooperation in innovation, and to lay the groundwork for bilateral joint projects in the future.
Atlantis is the first site in Nevada to apply WINT’s solution as a result of the partnership.
With offices in Tel Aviv and San Francisco, WINT is a big data company that provides an intelligent, IoT real-time water monitoring, conservation, and risk mitigation solution that leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies.
The company was founded in 2011 with the goal of solving two key problems that commercial real estate owners and decision makers often face:
- Water Waste: An independent government study estimates that commercial property owners spend ~20% of their water bills on inefficiencies, such as hidden leaks or inefficient fixtures, wasteful usage patterns, and more. WINT offers cloud-based dashboards and reporting modules designed to optimize water consumption.
- Water Damage: It’s a leading insurance claim, yet the legacy tools that have been deployed until now to understand water use and mitigate risk are rudimentary. WINT’s features include real-time alerts and automatic or remote valve shut-off in the event of emergencies.
“WINT is highly innovative, and it is producing technology that is revolutionizing the way water is managed and conserved,” said WaterStart Executive Director Nate Allen. “Our partnership with internationally-based companies like WINT — who leverage technology for water intelligence — is incredibly important as we work to address today’s global water challenges and spur economic growth for the state of Nevada.”
WaterStart helps water tech companies with novel solutions find opportunities in Nevada and beyond, providing expertise and funding to test and demonstrate the viability of their product.
“Big Data and water consumption benchmarks are transforming the future of real estate and providing unprecedented opportunities at a time when water risk and conservation has never been more pressing,” said WINT’s CEO, Avi (Jack) Jacoby. “Together with the state of Nevada, we look forward to demonstrating a scalable model for a better world; a world of frontier water analytics and optimization that can be replicated around the globe.”
This collaborative project between WaterStart, WINT, and Atlantis is building a channel for Israeli water innovation technology in Nevada and the U.S. While the Atlantis may test additional WINT products at its site, discussions are underway to potentially expand the technology to another Monarch, Inc. property in Colorado.
“Partnering with WaterStart has had a profound impact on how we manage our water usage at Atlantis. The analytics we receive from the program have helped us put processes into place that help us to better utilize our resources to conserve more water and ultimately, to save money,” said Atlantis Casino Corporate Director of Engineering Perry Sanders. “Atlantis is thankful to be the pilot program with WINT and to assist them in establishing a foothold in the United States and grow their business here. We are thrilled that our partnership will lead to additional jobs in Reno and that WINT will become a part of the economic boom the city is currently experiencing.
