Ireland-based Kastus, the nano-technology for antiviral surface coating technology, has announced the completion of a €5.65 million Series A round of financing.

The funding was led by Alpha Ascent Ventures with continued participation from Atlantic Bridge Capital, Carragh Holdings and Enterprise Ireland. 

WHY IT MATTERS

The Irish nano-technology has developed a globally patented range of 24/7 antimicrobial and antiviral surface coatings designed to protect touch screen and other glass surfaces against harmful viruses and bacteria.

With the global pandemic changing behaviours and attitudes towards hygiene and personal safety, Kastus’ self-sanitising technology aims to reduce cross-contamination from using public touchscreens and personal devices.

In June 2020 Kastus was awarded a  European Commission Grant to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and support recovery in Europe.  Kastus has 46 global patents granted and pending and are currently partnering with a host of global brands such as Lenovo, Lavazza and Kone to add antiviral protection to their touchscreen product portfolio.

Kastus will use the new capital to invest in growing the global commercial team to meet existing and new customer demand, plus deeper investment in the Kastus brand and global online footprint to drive new business and build long-term brand equity.

THE LARGER CONTEXT

Other big recent funding news include France-based Mnemo Therapeutics raising €75 million ($90 million) in Series A financing to accelerate its integrated CAR-T and epigenetic targeting platform.

A surge has been seen in the development of technologies that aim to curb viral transmissions. Amongst these is Microsoft HoloLens Mixed Reality headsets which were used by UK frontline medical staff at the beginning of the pandemic. 

ON THE RECORD

John Browne, founder & CEO of Kastus, said: “We are grateful to the team at Alpha Ascent for their vision and commitment to drive success for Kastus. We are seeing rapid acceleration in demand for our unique 24/7 surface coating technology, which is ISO proven to kill 99%+ of harmful bacteria and viruses including human coronavirus.

"Due to the uniqueness, versatility and mass-production readiness of our technology we are attracting new business opportunities from global power-brands in sectors such as consumer electronics, mobile devices, touchscreens providers, home appliances, hospitality, travel and even food & beverage to name a selection. Our team is delighted to currently be partnering with such powerful global brands as Lenovo, Lavazza Pro and Kone, and we are excited that this new funding round will enable us to accelerate and realise our full potential.”