Industrial water technology company Gradiant expects its India business to double next year, driven by growing demand from semiconductor, solar, printed circuit board (PCB) and data centre projects, even as it faces challenges in building the engineering and execution capacity needed to deliver its expanding order book.

“It is not about getting more orders. It is how do I convert that order and execute them and create that capacity and capability,” Gradiant COO Govind Alagappan said at a media interaction in Coimbatore.

The Woburn-based company currently generates revenue in the range of $500 million-$750 million, with India accounting for about 10%. Gradiant expects $1 billion in global revenue over the next two to three years. While it did not disclose its current India revenue, the company said the business is expected to double next year.

Its global order book is approaching $1 billion, according to the company. Equipment deliveries typically take nine to 12 months, while projects in faster-moving segments such as solar and data centres can take less than 18 months from initial discussions to handover.

Gradiant designs, builds and operates systems for treating, recycling and recovering water and wastewater used by industrial customers. Its client base spans semiconductors, solar, data centres, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage and other industries. The company was founded in 2013 by MIT researchers Anurag Bajpayee and Prakash Govindan.

Semiconductor drives growth

Semiconductors are currently Gradiant’s biggest focus in India, alongside PCB manufacturing and the solar photovoltaic manufacturing ecosystem.

The company said it is involved in two of the largest semiconductor water-treatment deployments in India, although it did not disclose the customers. One of the projects is already entering the start-up phase.

Gradiant’s semiconductor solutions cover both the production of ultrapure water required in chip manufacturing and the treatment of wastewater generated during the manufacturing process.

Solar, data centres as growth centers

Gradiant said it has more than 50% market share in the solar segment, based on its presence among major solar manufacturers using its technologies for ultrapure water and water recycling. Its India business covers solar-cell manufacturing as well as ingot and wafer production.

Data centres are another emerging opportunity, although the company said large-scale investments in the sector have yet to fully materialise in India. “We’ve gotten into the top four hyperscalers in Europe, in the US, and in Southeast Asia. We are in early stage discussions in India,” the company said.

According to the company, water availability is becoming a critical constraint for large data centres, particularly as cooling requirements rise with the scale of new facilities.

Gradiant said newer hyperscale and AI data centres can range from 500 MW to 1 GW, making them substantially larger than facilities being built two years ago.

Expansion, acquisition and financing

The company has also used acquisitions to build capabilities and enter new markets, completing around 10 acquisitions globally over the past five years. Its India expansion, however, has been developed organically.

Gradiant recently completed its Series E financing at a valuation of $2 billion. The company has raised roughly $700 million across funding rounds.

Alagappan said it has put in place governance, compliance and internal-control systems needed for a potential public listing, but an IPO is not currently a specific milestone.

North America, Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific, including India, each account for roughly one-third of the company’s business.

Geopolitical tensions have affected Gradiant’s Middle East operations, with the company estimating an impact of about 20% on revenue growth in the region. In India, however, it said it currently sees no major policy or supply-chain constraints.

Coimbatore centre expands

Gradiant has around 250 employees in India across its Chennai and Coimbatore operations. The two locations form its Global Engineering Centre (GEC), which supports projects worldwide.

The Coimbatore facility, which began operations in February 2025 with six employees, now has about 75 people and capacity for around 120.

The GEC is responsible for detailed engineering work across Gradiant’s global projects, including process design and manufacturing drawings. The company said the Chennai-Coimbatore engineering operation is pivotal to almost three quarters of its revenue.

(The writer was in Coimbatore at the invitation of the company)

Published – August 26, 2026 05:12 pm IST