How SOURCE Lost Everything in Just 12 Months

Published on by in Business

How SOURCE Lost Everything in Just 12 Months

SOURCE (formerly Zero Mass Water) promised to revolutionize water access by producing safe drinking water directly from air using solar-powered Hydropanels. Founded in 2015 by Cody Friesen, the company raised $270 million from investors like Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, and BlackRock, becoming one of the most-funded water tech companies ever.

🥜 IN A NUTSHELL

🥜 What was Source Global's core technology? Source developed solar-powered Hydropanels that extract water from atmospheric humidity and mineralize it into drinking water, requiring no connection to electrical grids or water networks.

Why did the company fail despite massive funding? Source ran out of cash after failing to raise additional funding, encountered significant product quality and reliability issues especially from their Malaysian manufacturing facility, and struggled with an unsustainable cost structure that made units expensive compared to traditional water delivery.

What were the main product problems? Hydropanels experienced high failure rates within just 2-3 years, suffered from fan and battery breakages, lacked adequate maintenance support due to high employee turnover, and required warranty periods to be quietly reduced from 10 years to 5 years as reliability issues mounted.

Did Source attempt a business pivot?

Yes, Source acquired Proud Source Water and launched Sky Water brand, attempting to build Hydropanel farms to produce canned atmospheric water, hoping to create volume for manufacturing scale while generating revenue—a strategy similar to Xerox's equipment leasing model.

What remains of Source Global today? Founder Cody Friesen and most executives left between March-May 2025, Hydropanels and Sky Water are permanently out of stock, the company went silent on social media, but the acquired Proud Source Water bottled spring water business continues operating as a small boutique brand.

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