Maithri Aquatech draws DP World's backing in a sign of Indian climate tech coming of age

Maithri Aquatech, the Hyderabad climate tech startup whose Meghdoot technology produces clean drinking water from air, has secured strategic backing from DP World, with the global ports and logistics major picking up a 14% stake. The deal value was not disclosed. Beyond the capital, the investment is a marker of how Indian climate tech is beginning to draw patient, strategic money from large global corporates, not just venture funds.

A logistics giant taking equity in a water-from-air startup, rather than simply buying its machines, is a bet on the technology as long-term infrastructure. For a sector where most capital has stopped at the early stages, it is the kind of validation Indian founders have been waiting for.

The startup behind the water-from-air technology

Founded in 2016 and led by Founder and Managing Director Ramkrishna Mukkavilli, Maithri Aquatech built Meghdoot, Sanskrit for messenger of the clouds, in a joint patent collaboration with the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad. The atmospheric water generation system draws in air, condenses the moisture held within it, and purifies the water through a multi-stage filtration and remineralisation process. Because it pulls water from air, it needs no groundwater or surface water, and unlike desalination it produces no brackish wastewater.

The company says its systems have together generated over 5 billion litres of water and saved around 15 billion litres of groundwater. Its machines are in use with the Indian Railways, on ONGC offshore oil rigs and in state government schools, and it reported revenue of Rs 15.2 crore for the financial year ending March 2025. DP World's interest fits its goal of a net positive water impact by 2030, giving its water-scarce port and logistics sites a way to generate freshwater on location.

What the deal signals for Indian climate tech

India's climate tech sector has matured fast, but its funding has been lopsided. According to Tracxn's India Climate Tech 2026 report, annual investment rose from about $315 million in 2020 to $2.6 billion in 2025. Yet a report by IIMA Ventures and Japan's MUFG Bank found that fewer than 3% of Indian climate tech startups have raised Series B funding or beyond. A global operator taking a direct stake helps bridge that gap, bringing not just capital but a built-in customer, a worldwide deployment network and the credibility that pulls in later investors.

How does a machine make drinking water out of thin air

The idea borrows from something most homes already have. A dehumidifier or an air conditioner pulls moisture out of the air and usually discards it. An atmospheric water generator does that step deliberately, cooling air until the vapour condenses into liquid.

That raw water is then filtered to remove dust, microbes and odours, and minerals are added back so it is safe and pleasant to drink. Output rises in warm, humid conditions, which is why such systems suit India's coastal regions especially well.

For Maithri Aquatech, the stake opens a route into ports and logistics hubs well beyond India. For the wider ecosystem, it hints at a more durable pattern, where Indian climate startups that prove their technology and economics can attract serious strategic capital from global majors. If that holds, the country's hardest, most capital-hungry innovations may finally find the backers they have long needed.