SUNYA Energy

Helix Earth Secures $5.6 Million in Oversubscribed Seed Funding to Revolutionize Energy Efficiency in Commercial AC Systems

November 12, 2024
SUNYA Summary
- Helix Earth Technologies, Inc. has secured $5.6 million in oversubscribed seed funding to advance energy efficiency in commercial air conditioning systems. - The funding round was led by Veriten with participation from Anthropocene Ventures, Semilla Capital, and individual investors from notable venture capital and private equity firms. - Investors are from major innovation hubs including Silicon Valley, Boston, Houston, and Europe, focused on practical innovation in various sectors. - Helix Earth aims to revolutionize the commercial air conditioning market with a hardware technology co-invented by the CEO at NASA. - The technology, currently in pilot phase, is expected to save up to 50% of energy used in commercial air conditioning, aiming for a payback period of three years or less. - CEO Rawand Rasheed emphasized the investment's potential to transform the air conditioning industry with an easy-to-install solution that benefits multiple stakeholders. - Maynard Holt, CEO of Veriten, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, highlighting the technology’s broad applicability and immediate energy impact. - Helix Earth, founded in 2022 by Rice University alumni, aims to innovate in commercial humidity control and carbon capture alongside its air conditioning solutions. - The company has also received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy.
PRESS RELEASE
Helix Earth Secures $5.6 Million in Oversubscribed Seed Funding to Revolutionize Energy Efficiency in Commercial AC Systems:

Helix Earth co-founder leverages hardware technology he co-invented at NASA to disrupt commercial air conditioning, industrial filtration, and CO2 capture markets

November 12, 2024 08:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Helix Earth Technologies, Inc., (Helix Earth), a Houston-based hardware company at the forefront of clean tech solutions, announced today the successful close of its $5.6 million seed funding. The oversubscribed financing round was led by Veriten, the energy research, strategy, and investing firm, with participation from Anthropocene Ventures, Semilla Capital, and others including individual investors from prominent venture capital and private equity firms. Helix Earth’s seed round investors come from key innovation hubs including Silicon Valley, Boston, Houston, and Europe, and are united by a passion for practical innovation in the built environment, industrial, and CO2 capture sectors.

“This investment will empower the Helix Earth team to accelerate the development and deployment of our first groundbreaking hardware technology designed to disrupt a significant portion of the commercial air conditioning market, an industry that is ready for innovation,” said Rawand Rasheed, PhD, Helix Earth co-founder and CEO, and co-inventor of the NASA technology exclusively licensed to the company, which was spun out of Rice University and has been incubated at Greentown Labs in Houston since 2022.

Leveraging technology developed for NASA, this cost-effective, commercial air conditioner add-on technology, now in pilot phase, will save up to 50% of the net energy used in commercial air conditioning, a significant impact on both emissions and operating costs, with an expected unsubsidized payback in three years or less.

“The enthusiastic response from investors reinforces our team’s confidence in our ability to transform innovation-starved sectors such as commercial air conditioning with an easy-to-install-and-maintain solution that benefits distributors, mechanical contractors, and most of all, building owners, with a positive benefit to the environment,” Dr. Rasheed said.

Maynard Holt, Veriten’s founder and CEO, commented, “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Helix Earth team. We were so impressed with their unique combination of a technology with broad applicability across multiple industries, a product that will have an immediate and measurable impact on our energy system, and a fantastic and well-rounded team.”

Helix Earth Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2022 by two Rice University alumni, one with a track record of four successful startups. Helix Earth has already garnered industry attention and recognition for its transformative approach to accelerating liquid-gas chemical processes. In addition to its commercial air conditioning solution, the company is innovating solutions for commercial humidity control and carbon capture. With this new funding, the company is primed to revolutionize markets and set new benchmarks for efficiency and affordable sustainability. The company has also secured grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy.

For more information about Helix Earth, its people, and its innovative hardware solutions, please visit www.helixearth.com.

Contacts

Ania Czarnecka, Ward, for Helix Earth
aczarnecka@wardcc.com

Brad Husick
Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer
Helix Earth
info@helixearth.com