change:WATER Labs
change:WATER Labs is a company.
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Key people at change:WATER Labs.
change:WATER Labs is a company.
Key people at change:WATER Labs.
change:WATER Labs is a startup developing the iThrone, a waterless, standalone toilet that evaporates 95% of human waste's water content, enabling sustainable sanitation without plumbing, power, or frequent waste collection.[1][4] It targets non-sewered households, vulnerable communities, hospitals, and regions like Uganda, solving dignity, safety, and hygiene issues in off-grid areas by shrinking waste volume and cutting collection costs.[2][3][4] Founded in 2015 and led by CEO Diana Yousef, the company has achieved early traction through trials, partnerships with MIT, NGOs, and governments, positioning it for scalable impact in global sanitation challenges.[1][4]
change:WATER Labs was co-founded in 2015 by MIT research scientists Diana Yousef and another partner, stemming from Yousef's 2009 NASA water treatment project for space agriculture, which inspired applications for developing world sanitation.[1][4] The idea evolved at MIT, where the team leveraged resources like MIT Solve (naming them a Solver team), D-Lab collaborations with students, and the Environment, Health, and Safety Office for waste treatment development.[4] A pivotal moment came with the 2020 deployment of iThrone toilets at a neonatal clinic in Kiboga, Uganda, offering cleaner, private alternatives to pit latrines and validating years of prototyping for real-world use.[4]
change:WATER Labs rides the global sanitation crisis trend, addressing the 3.6 billion people lacking safe systems amid climate change, urbanization, and water scarcity, particularly in non-sewered areas.[1][2] Timing aligns with rising impact investing in resiliency tech and SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), bolstered by NGO/government support and falling costs for evaporative materials.[4][6] Market forces like off-grid population growth in Africa/Asia favor it, while its MIT ecosystem influences startups by modeling university-corporate partnerships for social tech.[4]
change:WATER Labs is poised for expansion through larger deployments, commercial partnerships, and potential scaling to urban slums or disaster zones, driven by trial successes and Excelsior Impact Fund backing.[4][6] Trends like climate-resilient infrastructure and AI-optimized waste tech will shape its path, potentially evolving it into a sanitation platform leader. Its influence may grow by inspiring copycat innovations, amplifying MIT's role in deploying tech for the world's most vulnerable. This builds on its core promise: turning waste into opportunity where plumbing fails.[1][4]
Key people at change:WATER Labs.
