Molekule

Molekule is a science and technology company headquartered in San Francisco. It designs and manufactures air purifiers that use photoelectrochemical oxidation (PECO), a technology that the company claims may be useful against chemicals, microbes, allergens, and other forms of air pollution.[2] The devices were found to be ineffective by The Wirecutter in independent product tests,[3] and Consumer Reports ranked Molekule as the third lowest in a 2019 test of 48 air purifiers.[4] The Better Business Bureau asked Molekule to stop a range of claims the company made about the effectiveness of its devices.[5] The company's research and development takes place at the University of South Florida campus[6] and started shipping to Canada, India and South Korea in 2020.[7][8][9]

Molekule
FormerlyTransformair
TypePrivate
IndustryManufacturing
Founded2014
FounderJaya Rao, Dilip Goswami[1]
Headquarters
San Francisco
,
United States
Key people
Yogi Goswami (Chief Scientist)[1]
ProductsMolekule Air, Molekule Air Mini
Websitemolekule.com

History

During the 1990s, Dharendra Yogi Goswami started developing photo-voltaic technology to break down air pollutants in his home due to his son's severe asthma.[10] Goswami created air filtration prototypes that used photoelectrochemical oxidation (PECO) and nanotechnology to eliminate indoor pollutants on a molecular level. The technology was patented in 2014 by Goswami's children, Jaya and Dilip, and founded under the name Transformair.[11] By 2016, the company was known as Molekule.[12][13]

Molekule's first product, Molekule Air, started shipping in early 2017. The company completed a Series A funding in July 2017, raising $10.1 million.[14] In late 2018, Molekule announced $25 million in funding led by the Foundry Group.[15] The company announced in May 2019 that it would open a U.S.-based manufacturing plant in Polk County, Florida, which was the first in the Tampa Bay Area.[16] The company released the Molekule Air Mini, a miniature version of its Molekule Air purifier, in October 2019.[6]

It raised $58 million in Series C funding by early 2020, later releasing an Air Mini+ purifier.[17] During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company's chief scientist claimed that "[Molekule's] technology will destroy coronavirus", which was criticized by Vox as a method of profiting off the pandemic.[18]

FDA regulation, marketing claims and reception

In 2016, Popular Science recognized Molekule as one of its "10 Greatest Home Innovations Of The Year".[19] In 2017, the company was a finalist at the SXSW 2017 Interactive Innovation Awards for Health, Med, & Biotech, also receiving the Silver Edison Award for Environmental Quality later that year.[20][21] It was listed as one of the TIME "25 Best Inventions of 2017" and was an honorable mention at Fast Company’s 2018 Innovation By Design Awards.[22][23]

The Molekule Air received positive reviews from Popular Mechanics and Business Insider.[24][25] The same device was criticized as ineffective by Wirecutter and Consumer Reports.[3][4] Wirecutter also tested the Molekule Air Mini, and described the two as "the worst air purifiers we’ve ever tested", noting that "at a certain point, these results look worse than what you see with no purifier running at all."[3]

In October 2019, the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division (NAD) recommended that Molekule stop 26 advertising claims about the effectiveness of its devices after a complaint by its competitor, Dyson.[5] [17] Molekule complied with some of the recommendations (e.g. removing references to "independent testing"[3]) but appealed others, arguing that the NAD had not taken into account some newer test results.[5][17] In June 2020, the BBB's National Advertising Review Board rejected Molekule's appeal almost entirely, with Molekule agreeing to remove various additional claims, including its longstanding slogan "Finally, an air purifier that actually works", and to modify others to clarify that they refer to the PECO technology rather than its actual products.[3]

In April 2020, Molekule received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for a new product, the Molekule Air Pro RX, as a Class II medical device.[26]

References
  1. "Molekule". Molekule. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  2. https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2018/08/29/air-purifier-wildfires-molekule.html
  3. Heffernan, Tim (2020-06-10). "Molekule Retracts Most of Its Advertising Claims". Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  4. Santanachote, Perry (9 December 2019). "Does the Molekule Air Purifier Live Up to the Hype?". Consumer Reports. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  5. "NAD Recommends Molekule Discontinue Pollution Elimination, Asthma and Allergy Symptom Relief Claims for its Molekule Home One Air Purifier; Advertiser to Appeal Certain Findings". Advertising Self-Regulatory Council. 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  6. "Air purification company Molekule releases its newest product". Tampa Bay Times.
  7. "Molekule Air Purification Solutions Enter Korean Market with Increasing Global Demand and Interest from the APAC Region". www.prnewswire.com.
  8. "Molekule Air Purifiers to Now Start Shipping to India". www.prnewswire.com.
  9. "Molekule's Award Winning Air Mini+ now available in Canada". www.newswire.ca.
  10. "Molekule hopes to clear the air with $58 million in Series C funding and Berkeley Lab's testing". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  11. "Meet Molekule, the sleekest air purifier on the market". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  12. Tuesday, Marianne Galaris; September 20; 2016. "Introducing the revolution of indoor air purification in a single Molekule". 83Degrees. Retrieved 2020-10-15.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. "Molekule | About". Molekule.
  14. FinSMEs (2017-07-19). "Molekule Raises $10.1M in Series A Funding". FinSMEs.
  15. Azevedo, Mary Ann (November 1, 2018). "Molekule Raises $25M To Bring Air Purification Out Of The 1940s". Crunchbase News.
  16. "USF-born startup chooses Polk County for first U.S. manufacturing plant". Tampa Bay Business Journal. 23 May 2019.
  17. Desantis, Nick (2020-03-02). "An air purifier company just raised $58m, but an ad watchdog says something stinks". The Hustle. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  18. Heilweil, Rebecca (2020-03-11). "The most ridiculous ways companies are trying to profit from the coronavirus outbreak". Vox. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  19. "The 10 Greatest Home Innovations Of The Year". Popular Science.
  20. "65 Finalists Announced for the 2017 Interactive Innovation Awards". January 23, 2017.
  21. "Edison Awards™ - Honoring the Best in Innovation and Innovators". www.edisonawards.com.
  22. "The 25 Best Inventions of 2017". Time.
  23. Gagne, Yasmin (September 10, 2018). "Building a better air filter". Fast Company.
  24. https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/g22816590/best-air-purifier/
  25. Brains, James. "The best air purifiers". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  26. "USF-patented air purifier receives FDA 510(k) Class II Medical Device Clearance". www.usf.edu. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
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