Saya Life

Saya Life is a smart water-management platform that uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Notable customers include Walmart and Hilton, as well as 10 multi-family properties and three commercial properties. It's already been granted five patents, with two more pending.

Intended for enterprise property owners, this platform merges big data analytics, edge computing, and AI to create a revolutionary technology. This technology can predict, detect, and mitigate water issues. To date, it’s the only certified multi-tenant platform that can be used for billing purposes and leak prevention.

When developing its platform, Saya used feedback from builders, utilities providers, and insurance companies. And it learned about three core problems when it comes to water management:

1. A loss of revenue due to water damages.

2. Unreliable and expensive billing systems that aren’t “tenant-friendly.”

3. And limited visibility with respect to water quality and ways to improve water efficiencies.

These problems sum up most of the worries that property owners have when it comes to managing water usage in their buildings.

Multi-tenant property owners constantly stress about accurate tenant billing and water-related damage caused by leaks.

Often, owners are confronted by unhappy tenants who feel they've been charged unfairly for water use. Meanwhile, it’s not uncommon for multi-tenant properties to have 3 to 5 catastrophic leaks every year.

Costs to repair the damage from these leaks can range from $20,000 to more than $150,000. This is because by the time the leak is detected and addressed, the damage has already been done.

The bottom line: there’s a need for a solution that can track water consumption accurately and in real-time, and predict anomalies to prevent water issues before they get out of hand.

Saya is aiming to be that solution.

Its platform aims to disrupt the water sub-metering industry by offering benefits to property owners, tenants, insurance companies, and utilities providers.

The platform is a combination of hardware and software. The hardware consists of a water meter, flood sensors, and a single Gateway system. The Gateway collects data for the entire building, while sensors detect both small water leaks and pipe ruptures. The system will even automatically shut off water, preventing water-related damage.

The software consists of a mobile platform that can be used by property owners and tenants. Tenants can monitor daily consumption and get an idea of their monthly bill. They can also be alerted to any potential leaks through the app.

Saya’s platform enables multi-unit residences to bill individual water users where there is only one utility-owned meter servicing the building (as opposed to tenants having to split one giant bill each month).

Owners can manage water usage and act in the event of incidents including pipe bursts, running toilets, slab leaks, over-consumption, and a change in water quality. In addition, they can use Saya for water-related utility rebates and collect data that can be used toward insurance policy discounts.

In one use case, a system was installed in a 500-unit complex. In less than a year, the system reduced CO2 emissions by 18.4 metric tons, saved 4.5 million gallons of water, and thousands of dollars worth of energy. It also prevented three potentially catastrophic leaks.

Saya charges a one-time installment fee for the system and sensors. It then charges a subscription service for water risk management and billing application. Each subscription is customized to the size and occupancy of the property, and priced accordingly.

The company won the CEC grant for Water Energy Nexus Project affiliated with Walmart, the Watts Grant Award for Technology Healing Garden Project, and a Top 10 Innovation Award for the 2019 Cohort of the Net Zero Accelerator.

Saya completed the Los Angeles Clean Tech Incubator and Upward Labs accelerator, and is currently part of the Evonexus Incubator sponsored by Qualcomm.

The company projects to earn $1.7 million in revenue in 2021 and $8 million next year.

Team Background

Ray Li - Chief Technology Officer

Ray has more than 20 years of software development experience.

He began his career as a software engineer with Ericsson, a telecommunications company. From there, he was a senior software architect with Cisco Systems.

Most recently, he was a senior director of software engineering with Greenwave Reality, the IoT computer software company, where he worked with Sanjay.

Ray earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Shandong University and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Sanjay Poojary - Founder & CEO

Sanjay began his career with Cisco, a hardware technology company, serving as a senior manager for software development. From there, he became a senior manager with Kofax, a computer software business.

Prior to starting Saya Life, he became Director of Product Management with Greenwave Systems, a computer software company focused on the “Internet of Things” sector.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from California State University.

Noorali Lakhani - Chief Operating Officer

Prior to his time with Saya Life, Noorali was a senior staff engineer with Qualcomm, a telecommunications company. Before that, he spent nearly 20 years as an engineer with Mindspeed Technologies, a company focused on semiconductor manufacturing.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Co-Investors