IIT Gandhinagar provides financial, technical support to air purification start-up AiRTH

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (IIEC) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar has provided a seed fund of Rs.50 lakh to AiRTH Research Private Limited, a start-up that manufactures anti-microbial air purifiers, the institute said in a statement.

This is the highest funding received by any start-up under the incubation centre of IIT Gandhinagar, it added.

AiRTH has developed an anti-microbial air purification technology that protects users from germs and air pollutants. The indigenous start-up’s technology can purify the air by filtering out even coronavirus-sized particles.

As the technology has the potential to keep the air clear of the coronavirus, its funding is provided under the Nidhi4Covid2.0. The Nidhi4Covid2.0 drive is an initiative by the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), DST, Government of India to support innovation against COVID-19.

IIEC has already released Rs 25 lakh of the Rs 50 lakh commitment to the start-up. It will also be offering mentoring and marketing support with the objective of scaling up the technology swiftly.

AiRTH has been founded by IIT Bombay alumnus Ravi Kaushik. Currently, the company’s air purifiers work for large spaces. The Reserve Bank of India office in Mumbai, Stock Holding Corporation of India (SHCIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) are early adopters of the air purifiers. IIT Gandhinagar is providing the company with the support needed to bring the technology to households and small offices, promoting the Make in India movement.

Kaushik, founder and CEO, of AiRTH Research Private Limited, said, “It has been great to receive support from IIEC under the Nidhi4Covid2.0 programme. Because of this funding, we were able to deliver our products to a cancer hospital, and now we can contribute to saving the lives of immunocompromised patients in that hospital. To multi-fold our impact, we will scale up our manufacturing with IIEC’s support.”

Anand Pandey of IIEC said, “We are happy to support and empower AiRTH in our collective fight to defeat the pandemic. Such indigenous technologies developed by bright minds within the country show India’s strength in technological domains. At IIEC, we are on a mission to foster techno-entrepreneurship through innovative and creative thinking using an interdisciplinary approach. We are providing start-ups with the right kind of support ecosystem through a pool of mentors, advisors, and advanced infrastructure so that they can convert their ideas into viable and scalable businesses.”