SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Swiftarc Ventures, LLC an early and growth stage Venture Capital Firm focused on the next generation of Consumer and Consumer Health disruptors, has made its first portfolio investment in biosafety startup R-Zero, which reduces the spread of infectious diseases through their initial product, “Arc”, a hospital-grade UV-C disinfecting device designed for commercial use including restaurants, hotels, offices, and schools.
The company recently closed on a $15 million Series A round of funding led by DBL Partners with participation from Bedrock Capital and Swiftarc Ventures, bringing the total funding to $16 million (including Swiftarc Ventures Labs’ participation in its Seed round earlier this year). The new funds will help fast-track launch and distribution of their flagship germicidal UV device, Arc.
COVID-19 exposed our vulnerability to infectious diseases thus triggering the birth of R-Zero to help revive our shuttered economy and reopen schools. The R-Zero and Swiftarc Ventures teams connected over the opportunity to provide a safety protocol and set of tools for schools along with the retail and hospitality industries, especially due to the health and economic effects that these pathogens cause.
“We are grateful to have such incredible support from investors like Swiftarc Ventures,” said Eli Harris, President and Co-founder of R-Zero. “Swiftarc General Partner, Zohar Ziv, is someone I’ve long admired. Working with investors who share our values in challenging the status quo and being philanthropic-minded was important to the founding team at R-Zero. We are thrilled to become a part of the Swiftarc family.”
The Arc provides a powerful and even 360-degree UV-C disinfection that destroys over 99.99% of pathogens, including COVID-19, MRSA, and E.Coli, while minimizing day-to-day disruption of dynamic environments up to 5,000 square feet, in less than 7 minutes. The team partnered with Dr. Richard Wade, a leading expert in toxicology, risk assessment, environmental engineering, environmental risk management, microbiological and chemical contamination, to develop the Arc.
“The thing we liked most about the R-Zero Systems team was that they had the right blend of founder experience in Grant, Eli and Ben. They each have a diverse set of experiences and expertise. We also think that their moonshot of wanting to be the industry-wide certification standard for UV-C disinfecting in commercial spaces is extremely appealing,” said Sid Jawahar, Founder & Managing Partner of Swiftarc Ventures. “The first wave of the company's evolution is focused on consumer products with high efficacy with a long-tail potential of several iterations in the company's evolution.”
About R-Zero
R-Zero is a biosafety company dedicated to making the spaces we all work, rest, learn and play safer. The company's suite of hospital-grade technologies and protocols is designed to fit seamlessly into businesses of all shapes and sizes. For more information, please visit https://www.rzero.com.
About Swiftarc Ventures
Swiftarc Ventures, LLC is an early and growth stage Venture Capital Firm focused on the next generation of Consumer and Consumer Health disruptors leading the charge. Swiftarc's team combines over 170 years of experience across the entire consumer investment and executive spectrum, from growing pre-revenue concepts to managing operations for multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 companies. For more information, please visit https://www.swiftarcventures.com
