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

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Helix Earth, a Houston-based hardware company built on proprietary liquid-gas chemistry with roots in NASA aerospace technology, announced today the successful close of its $12 million oversubscribed Seed 2 funding. The oversubscribed financing round was led by Veriten, an energy research, strategy, and investing firm, with participation from Rua Ventures, Carnrite Ventures, Skywriter LLC, Textbook Ventures, and others. The round drew backing from key innovation hubs across Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, Houston, and Saudi Arabia, all united by conviction in practical innovation across the built environment, industrial filtration, and CO2 capture sectors.

The strength of this round reinforces our team’s conviction that we can transform innovation-starved sectors with transformational solutions and deliver order-of-magnitude improvements to owners and operators, for their bottom line and the environment.Share

“This investment will empower the Helix Earth team to scale manufacturing and accelerate deployment of our first hardware product, a retrofit system designed to disrupt a significant portion of the $150 billion commercial air conditioning market. Building owners are dealing with rising energy costs, uncontrolled humidity, and aging infrastructure with no viable, cost-effective path forward. We are in the field today solving these problems for commercial customers, and this capital puts us on an aggressive path to scale,” said Rawand Rasheed, PhD, Helix Earth co-founder and CEO of the company, which was spun out of Rice University and has been incubated at Greentown Labs in Houston since 2023.

Helix Earth is developing a one-of-a-kind, cost-effective commercial air conditioner add-on that bifurcates the energy required for temperature management from moisture control. The result is healthier indoor air, lower energy bills, reduced building maintenance, and more comfortable spaces for building owners and occupants.

“We’ve spoken with hundreds of building owners representing tens of thousands of locations, and the message is consistent. They want more comfortable spaces, better air quality, lower energy bills, less product spoilage from uncontrolled humidity, and longer life out of their existing AC equipment. Helix Earth gives them exactly that, without the massive cost of ripping out and replacing what they already have,” said Dr. Rasheed.

“The strength of this round reinforces our team’s conviction that we can transform innovation-starved sectors with transformational solutions that deliver order-of-magnitude improvements to owners and operators, for both their bottom line and the environment.” Dr. Rasheed said.

Maynard Holt, Veriten’s founder and CEO, commented, “We are tripling our investment in Helix Earth. The team has built breakthrough technology with real applicability across multiple industries. Their first product will have an immediate and measurable impact on our energy system, and they are already pursuing adjacent innovations to help heavy industries operate more efficiently and with less waste. This is a well-rounded team with a proven track record of strong execution and disciplined capital management.”

Helix Earth Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2022 by two Rice University alumni, Dr. Rasheed (Forbes 30 Under 30, Energy), and Brad Husick (who has a track record of five successful startups). Helix Earth has already garnered broad industry attention and recognition, including recognition on the Cleantech 50 to Watch list, first place in the 2025 SXSW Pitch competition, and Pepperdine Business School’s “Most Fundable Companies” award. 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 a Phase II SBIR grant from the National Science Foundation and grants from the US Department of Energy.

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

Contacts

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

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