Origen Air has secured a seed funding round in order to accelerate its commercialization efforts, the Victoria-based startup announced this month.
Origen raised $1.5 million through a strategic investment from First Inflection Business Advisors, a Toronto-based organization which provides seed capital and business expertise targeted to early-stage Canadian technology companies. The BC startup is aiming the investment toward Pinnacle, which it describes as an “industry-first, enhanced plant air purification solution for commercial indoor environments.”
The company’s combination of bioengineered plants, HEPA filtration, and IAQ sensors “is a true-green technology,” according to a statement from Origen, which has successfully installed Pinnacle solutions across Canada.
The fully-automated, free-standing device “bridges the gap between high-efficiency air purifiers, modular living walls and data-driven furniture design,” says Origen. Pinnacle filters out things like volatile organic compounds and CO2 while producing O2 and balancing relative humidity levels.
The combination of “biophilic design and multi-barrier indoor air purification solutions delivers measurable increases in staff performance, health, and wellness while decreasing rates of absenteeism,” a statement from Origen reads. Indeed, Origen claims employers can save up to $15,000 per employee per year by increasing productivity while reducing absence rates by 35%.
Origen Air was founded in Victoria by Susan Blanchet and Andrew Crawford in 2019. The startup saw some action last year during Spring Activator’s first-ever Canada-wide Impact Investor Challenge.
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