USA – Aō Air, a Portland, Ore.-based maker of an air pollution protection device, raised $1.8m USD in funding.
The round was led by Blackbird Ventures with participation from the Oregon Sports Angels, a network of investors, as well as a $300k USD grant from the New Zealand government via the COVID-19 Innovation Acceleration Fund. The company intends to use the funds for the continued development and eventual delivery of its flagship product, the Atmōs. Led by Dan Bowden, CEO, Aō Air provides Atmōs, an innovative new product whose technology has been independently validated by the Auckland University of Technology to provide better protection against airborne particulate matter than the standard N95 mask. The mask was originally designed to protect consumers from air pollution, and was first made available for limited pre-sales in January 2020. The New Zealand government grant will be deployed specifically towards an ongoing R&D initiative that aims to address the threat of COVID-19. 21/07/2020
