Anurag Bajpayee: The Engineer Bringing Industrial Water Use Into the 21st Century

 In a world grappling with the twin pressures of climate change and rapid industrialization, water has become both a strategic resource and a mounting challenge. For industries that rely heavily on it—from semiconductors to pharmaceuticals—the question is no longer simply one of supply, but of sustainability and reuse. At the center of a growing movement to reengineer the way water is treated and recycled stands Anurag Bajpayee, an engineer and entrepreneur whose company, Gradiant, is gaining global attention for its practical solutions to one of the century’s most urgent environmental concerns.

Bajpayee earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2006 and went on to pursue graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he completed a master’s and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering.

It was during his time at MIT that Bajpayee began working on what would become the foundation for his later career. His research focused on thermal and membrane-free desalination techniques—technologies aimed at extracting clean water from complex sources without the high energy costs typically associated with conventional methods. One of his innovations, a process known as Carrier Gas Extraction (CGE), mimicked natural evaporation and condensation cycles to purify water efficiently. This technology was recognized by Scientific American in 2012 as one of the “Top 10 World-Changing Ideas.”

In 2013, Bajpayee co-founded Gradiant with fellow MIT alumnus Prakash Govindan. The company emerged as an MIT spinout with a mission to develop industrial-scale water treatment solutions based on advanced engineering principles. Gradiant’s focus has been on industries facing high water stress or stringent environmental regulations, offering systems that allow factories and plants to recycle wastewater on-site rather than discharge it or rely on freshwater withdrawals.

Gradiant’s growth over the past decade has mirrored rising global concerns about water scarcity. With operations now spanning the United States, China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, the company has built treatment plants across sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, energy, and mining.

Its clients include some of the world’s largest corporations. In Texas, Gradiant provides water reuse technologies to a semiconductor facility located in a drought-prone region. In China, it works with biopharmaceutical producers to ensure wastewater is treated and recycled to rigorous purity requirements.

One of Gradiant’s core offerings is a portfolio of proprietary technologies—developed in-house and backed by over 280 patents—ranging from advanced reverse osmosis to selective contaminant extraction and brine concentration systems. These tools enable customers to recover up to 98% of water from wastewater streams, a significant improvement over traditional methods.

The company has also gained traction among investors. In 2023, Gradiant raised $225 million in a Series D funding round, boosting its valuation to $1 billion.

Despite its commercial momentum, Bajpayee maintains that Gradiant is first and foremost an engineering firm focused on practical problem-solving. The company not only develops but also builds and operates water treatment infrastructure for its clients, offering a vertically integrated model that gives it greater control over performance and reliability.

This emphasis on engineering execution, rather than simply licensing technology, has helped distinguish Gradiant in a crowded market. Bajpayee has noted that while there are many good ideas in water treatment, the challenge lies in scale, reliability, and economics.

Bajpayee’s leadership has been widely recognized within the water industry. In 2019, he was named to MIT Technology Review’s annual list of Innovators Under 35 in the entrepreneur category. Gradiant has been named Desalination Company of the Year by Global Water Intelligence and received the Water Technology Idol award at the Global Water Summit in 2023. Its growing patent portfolio and global project base have earned it a reputation as a “water unicorn” within the climate-tech sector.

Yet Bajpayee himself remains focused on the long game. As water stress intensifies globally—due to both rising consumption and unpredictable climate patterns—he sees industrial water reuse as not just a technical solution, but a necessary evolution in how industries operate.

Looking ahead, Gradiant aims to expand further into emerging markets, where rapid industrialization is outpacing infrastructure. The company is also developing AI-driven systems for real-time water quality monitoring and predictive maintenance, as part of a broader push toward digital transformation in environmental services.

Bajpayee, who now splits his time between Boston, Middle East, Europe and Asia, continues to steer the company’s global strategy while staying involved in technical development. His background as both a scientist and an entrepreneur allows him to navigate the demands of innovation and execution—an increasingly rare combination in a field often divided between lab and boardroom.

At a time when the world’s freshwater systems are under growing strain, Bajpayee’s work sits at the intersection of environmental necessity and industrial efficiency. Whether Gradiant will become the dominant water tech company of its generation remains to be seen, but the approach it represents—of engineering-led, solution-focused sustainability—is already shaping how industries confront one of their most critical challenges