Spotlight Interview: Watergate

In our latest Spotlight Interview, we spoke with Krystian Zajac, CEO & Founder of Watergate.ai. Krystian shares how buildings are moving from reactive plumbing systems to proactive, data-driven water management, adapting to legacy buildings and their plans for the future."We’ve made buildings smarter in almost every other way, but water - one of the biggest risks - was still effectively unmanaged.That was the starting point for Watergate.The idea was simple: give buildings visibility and control over their water systems in real time, and stop problems before they happen."

Q1- Can you walk us through the company’s founding story and what led you to focus on water leak detection and management?

To understand Watergate, it probably helps to understand my background.

I started out building a smart home and security business, and then went on to co-found Neos - one of the first insurance companies to use smart technology to actively prevent claims, not just pay them.

Through that journey, I saw very clearly how much damage in buildings is actually preventable if you have the right data and control.

And one thing kept coming up again and again - water leaks.

They cause more damage than fires and theft combined, yet in most buildings they’re still only discovered once the damage is already done.

To me, that was bonkers.

We’ve made buildings smarter in almost every other way, but water - one of the biggest risks - was still effectively unmanaged.

That was the starting point for Watergate.

The idea was simple: give buildings visibility and control over their water systems in real time, and stop problems before they happen.

We started with leak detection, but very quickly realised this is much bigger than that.

Today, we’re building what is effectively a water intelligence layer for buildings - helping operators prevent damage, reduce waste, and manage water far more proactively.

Q2- Beyond leak detection, Watergate also tracks water use and potential health risks like Legionella. How does your system collect that data, and use AI to turn it into useful alerts for building operators?

At the core, we install connected devices directly into the plumbing system - typically at the point where water enters a building or within individual units.

They continuously monitor flow, pressure and temperature, giving us a real-time view of how water is behaving.

Where it becomes powerful is how we interpret that data.

We’re already using AI models to recognise different types of water usage based on flow behaviour. In practical terms, that means we can distinguish between things like a tap running, a toilet flush, or a shower.

That allows us to detect very specific issues - for example, identifying a toilet that’s constantly leaking, which is one of the most common and costly sources of water waste in buildings.

On top of that, we’re analysing temperature and usage patterns to flag conditions that could lead to risks like Legionella, so operators can act before it becomes a compliance issue.

We’re also using AI in how we communicate these issues. Instead of just dashboards, we can trigger automated alerts - including AI-powered calls - to make sure the right people are notified immediately and can take action.

Where this is going next is even more interesting.

As we build more advanced models, the system becomes better at understanding patterns across entire buildings and portfolios - not just detecting issues, but predicting them and helping operators optimise water usage at scale.

The shift is from reactive plumbing to intelligent water management.

Q3- Many legacy real-estate properties have older plumbing, meters, mixed tenants, and limited digital infrastructure. What are the retrofit/integration challenges and how is your solution designed to overcome them?

Retrofit is where theory meets reality.

Most buildings are messy. You don’t have accurate drawings, you don’t always know where shut-off valves are, and in some cases even getting access to the main water entry point isn’t straightforward.

We’ve seen buildings where facilities teams don’t actually know how to isolate the water in an emergency - which is not uncommon.

Then there are practical constraints.

Not every building has reliable WiFi. Some locations don’t have easy access to power. Infrastructure varies massively from site to site.

So from day one, we built Watergate to work in that environment.

Where connectivity is an issue, for example, we can provide our own infrastructure - including routers with NB-IoT connectivity - so we’re not dependent on the building’s network.

We’re also working on battery-powered solutions for locations where power access is limited.

And on the integration side, we’ve built both local and cloud APIs, so we can either operate independently or integrate with existing systems like BMS platforms.

But the biggest challenge isn’t technical.

It’s what happens once you deploy.

In many buildings, the moment we switch the system on, we start finding issues that were already there. Typically, over 20% of units have pre-existing leaks. In one student accommodation site, it was 52%.

We’ve even identified leaks as small as one drop every two minutes - small enough to evaporate on a heated floor before anyone could see it.

In some cases, clients initially assume the system must be wrong, because multiple plumbers haven’t been able to find the issue. But it turns out the problem was always there - just invisible.

So retrofit isn’t just about fitting technology into old buildings.

It’s about dealing with incomplete information, real-world constraints, and the fact that once you shine a light on water systems, you uncover problems people weren’t prepared for.

Q4- How does Watergate adapt its solution for different property types, from student housing to hospitality and mixed-use buildings?

Different property types don’t just differ in infrastructure - they differ in behaviour and incentives.

Take student accommodation.

Water is usually included in the rent, so residents have no real incentive to save it or report issues. A leaking toilet can run for weeks without anyone doing anything about it. But for the operator, that’s a direct and often significant cost.

So the challenge isn’t just detection - it’s engagement.

We’ve started introducing simple behavioural nudges alongside the hardware. For example, QR codes placed in bathrooms that students can scan with their phones. That gives them quick, accessible information about water use, and an easy way to report issues - whether it’s a leak, a blocked toilet, or something else.

And interestingly, once you make it visible, people do care. They just need a frictionless way to act.

In hospitality, it’s a different dynamic. The biggest risk is operational disruption. A water issue can take rooms out of service, impact guest experience, and hit revenue immediately. So the focus is on early detection and rapid response.

In large residential or mixed-use portfolios, the challenge is scale. Facilities teams are managing multiple sites, often without being on-site, so they need a centralised view across the portfolio, with the ability to drill down into specific issues.

Water behaves the same everywhere. People don’t.

Our role is to make water visible - and then present that information in a way that actually works for the people responsible for acting on it.

Q5-Looking ahead, what’s next for Watergate? How do you see the company evolving over the next 3 to 5 years?

We’re seeing three forces converging.

Regulation is tightening.

Water is becoming genuinely scarce and more expensive.

And sustainability is moving from a reporting exercise to something operators are actually accountable for - including the carbon footprint of every litre.

All of that is pushing water up the agenda very quickly.

At Watergate, we’re building for that shift.

We’re expanding the hardware layer to make deployment faster, simpler and more cost-effective - including solutions that can be self-installed and scaled across large portfolios.

But the bigger focus is the platform.

We’re building a hardware-agnostic software layer that can sit on top of any water infrastructure - whether it’s our devices, existing meters, or third-party systems - and turn that data into something actionable.

That opens up a much bigger opportunity. Utilities, manufacturers and property operators can all use the same intelligence layer to influence behaviour, reduce waste, and manage risk.

At the same time, we’re scaling internationally, with strong demand across the Middle East, Europe and the US.

And we’re doubling down on insurance partnerships, where reducing water risk translates directly into lower premiums and excess for customers.

So if you look at where this is going, it’s quite simple.

We’re building the intelligence layer for water.

Over the next 3 to 5 years, our ambition is to become a globally recognised water operating system - sitting across devices, buildings, utilities and insurers.

We’re connecting the drops.