Woosh, a technology company focused on improving indoor air quality and HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) performance using data, is launching its first consumer product on Kickstarter while announcing a raise of $1.3 million in funding.

Woosh is the brainchild of former Google product manager Winston Mok, who became frustrated with the 2019 California wildfires and struggled to find room air purifiers in stores as the air quality index (AQI) passed 150 in San Francisco. Mok decided to build his own and quickly learned that portable room air purifiers do not solve the problem of air quality for the entire home. “Working from home made me realize that consumers are blind to the air we are breathing and that the average air filter is rated at Merv 6, which does not capture smoke, bacteria, or virus carriers. In-room air filters are just bandaid solutions as the real problem to solve is the HVAC system for the entire home,” explains Mok.

This problem was amplified in 2020 with the bombardment of the Covid-19 virus, when Google mandated all its employees work from home, stressing the importance of air quality as homes became the new office for the world. Mok recognized three recurring problems 1. consumers have no visibility into the air quality of their homes, 2. consumers do not know when their HVAC filter needs to be changed, and 3. That low-quality filters do not capture harmful bacteria or viruses.

Mok leveraged his Google experience and mechatronics engineering background to build prototypes using his home three-dimensional printer, air filters, and computer sensors. He left his well-paying Google career to follow his passion and meet the challenge to solve this problem globally. With prototype in hand, Mok raised a $1.3 million pre-seed round in a matter of weeks from executives from Google, Life360, TI Platform, and startup founders: Alex Haro, Chris Nguyen and Matt Humphry.

Woosh is officially launching on Kickstarter with expectations to deliver the consumer product in Q4 2022.

Woosh’s first product will have an injection-molded frame that allows filters to be changed like a Swiffer Sweeper which reduces waste to landfills. The smart filter is connected to a home Wi-Fi and transmits data to a mobile app, allowing filters to be delivered to homes in a subscription format. Woosh will use MERV13-rated filters that capture >50% of viruses and bacteria (including Covid-19).

Mok has big plans for his product. “What Nest did for the home thermostat is what we want to do for HVAC air filters. I left my job in 2021 with the goal to ensure everyone has the best air quality in their homes while providing important data to homeowners,” he states. “The goal is to ensure someone like my father, who’s 81 years old, and every other household member from infancy to their golden age, is receiving hospital-grade air quality on autopilot.”