Mercedes, Siemens and Cox Turn Wastewater Into a Strategic Asset With Atlanta Startup 4Earth

Could wastewater be turned into an asset?

Some big corporate and manufacturing names think so, and they are turning to 4Earth, an Atlanta-based hardware and software startup, to make it a reality.

4Earth builds smart, modular water treatment technology for industry, commercial and critical infrastructure reuse, working as a “one-stop shop” for end-to-end water reuse, says founder and CEO Jahanzeb (Jahn) Khan.

Gaining Corporate Support

4Earth has three core products, each designed to tackle a different type of dirty water. The company designs its Ginseng and Ginseng Element products to treat and reuse wastewater inside factories, data centers, and manufacturing plants.

Its Phantom product for rainwater treatment can be deployed in commercial buildings, large facilities and campuses, designed for onsite stormwater treatment and multi-purpose use. Designed for dense urban sites and factories, the system can also help buildings reduce water-related costs, meet sustainability regulations and qualify for green building credits without sacrificing valuable square footage.

4Earth’s new product line, Axon AI,  provides sensor fusion and AI-based process optimization and predictive maintenance to factories and plants along with a digital twin of their process.

Even in its early stages, Big logos have been working with 4Earth. The startup worked with Mercedes Benz in South Carolina, deploying its Ginseng Element to create a “crystal-clear resource” from their waste stream treated for cooling tower reuse.

With Cox Enterprises and Manheim, 4Earth worked to transform its industrial fleet washing and detailing site. This allowed the company to directly return water to the wash lines.

Other corporate partners to date include Siemens, Central Life Sciences and Ruby Collins. The move is a cost savings and strong sustainability play for large manufacturers and plants who need to minimize net water consumption and improve on-site water recovery efforts. Another major value 4Earth is bringing is speed of deployment, ease of implementation and user-friendly, tech-driven systems.

Made In Georgia, USA

Hypepotamus first met the 4Earth team in 2021 when they were testing out their modular technology at a water treatment facility in Atlanta.

Since then, 4Earth has scaled and built out a full manufacturing facility in Kennesaw, just northwest of the city. They have secured strong supply chain partners and are currently building and deploying more units to support industrial growth and critical infrastructure in the US. They have currently deployed systems in Georgia, Texas, Tennessee and South Carolina and are looking to add more states this year.

Khan said that 4Earth operates with a “SpaceX mentality” in their manufacturing.

“Our hardware and software is co-designed and built together,” Khan told Hypepotamus. “We’re all in the same place. We keep the door to the manufacturing facility open. We want engineers and manufacturers to be talking and working together daily.”

4Earth was also part of the inaugural cohort for the Cox Cleantech Accelerator, powered by gener8tor, which kicked off in Atlanta in 2025. Khan said that Cox Enterprises has offered the startup “next level” support as both an accelerator partner and as a customer.