Backed by Emerald Development Managers, AgFunder, and MANN+HUMMEL, Uviquity aims to revolutionize air, food, and water disinfection with its chip-scale far-UVC light sources

RALEIGH, N.C., May 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Uviquity, a deep tech startup pioneering next-generation photonic disinfection technologies, today announced it has emerged from stealth with $6.6 million in seed funding. The round was led by Emerald Development Managers, an early-stage venture capital firm specializing in deep tech, with participation from AgFunder and MANN+HUMMEL, global leaders in food and agriculture venture capital and advanced filtration solutions.

Uviquity is developing solid-state far-UVC (200-230 nm) semiconductor light sources designed to deliver safe, continuous, and chemical-free disinfection for air, food, and water applications. The funding will support Uviquity’s research and development efforts, accelerating the productization of its core technology—a proprietary photonic integrated circuit that couples blue laser light into frequency-doubling waveguides, enabling a scalable, single-chip far-UVC solution that can fit on the tip of your finger and seamlessly integrate into a wide variety of applications using standard photonic packages.

“We believe far-UVC light is the future of pathogen control—and Uviquity’s wide-bandgap semiconductor platform is the key to making it practical, scalable, and safe,” said Scott Burroughs, CEO and co-founder of Uviquity. “This funding allows us to bring our vision to life and unlock a new standard for clean air, safe food, and pure water—at scale and without chemicals.”

A Safer, More Effective Way to Disinfect

Unlike conventional UV-C solutions, far-UVC light has been proven safe for continuous exposure to human skin and eyes while rapidly inactivating all known pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and mold spores. Until now, far-UVC systems have relied on bulky gas-discharge lamps with limited scalability and reliability.

Uviquity’s chip-based semiconductor approach represents a paradigm shift, offering a compact, energy-efficient, and durable solution that can be integrated into light fixtures, air handling systems, food packaging and processing equipment, agricultural crop protection systems, water purification systems, and consumer appliances.

Broad Applications, Global Impact

Uviquity’s solid-state far-UVC platform opens the door to a wide range of transformative applications:

• Air disinfection in public and private spaces, providing invisible, always-on protection from airborne illnesses
  
• Pesticide-free crop protection, enabling healthier and more sustainable agriculture
  
• Chemical-free water purification, delivering clean water at any scale without harmful byproducts

“With its proven team and novel technology, Uviquity fits perfectly with our goal to invest in exceptional companies that are solving real problems,” said Cy Schroeder of Emerald Development Managers. “We believe Uviquity’s semiconductor approach to far-UVC will revolutionize how the world handles disinfection.”

About Uviquity

Founded in 2022 by a team of scientists, engineers, and photonics experts, Uviquity is on a mission to develop and commercialize technology to improve the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. By harnessing the power of solid-state far-UVC light, Uviquity enables continuous, safe, and sustainable protection from pathogens across multiple industries.

For more information, visit www.uviquity.com.

SOURCE Uviquity Inc.

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