BioFlyte revealed a successful fundraising effort on Aug. 10 that secured $5.4 million in fresh capital. The funding, led by Scout Ventures and Cottonwood Technology Fund, along with contributions from New Mexico Vintage Fund, provides BioFlyte the resources to expand its manufacturing and sales capacities, according to a press release.
BioFlyte's primary product is the BioTOF™ z200, a biothreat monitoring system designed for safeguarding critical infrastructure and screening mail. The z200 offers rapid test results within five minutes and functions autonomously in vital settings like airports, entertainment venues and government buildings. This technology is versatile, extending its use to screening mail processing facilities as well, the release reported.
“This round of funding will allow us to scale our manufacturing operations and create a sales organization to drive market penetration and support our growing customer base,” Todd Sickles, CEO, BioFlyte, said. “We plan to expand our market presence by providing disruptive biothreat surveillance solutions that meet the needs of business operators and emergency management personnel within enterprises that are strongly focused on protecting people and minimizing business disruption emanating from biological threats.”
The setup includes an autonomous wall-mounted sensor that can detect and identify airborne toxins in real time. This system utilizes matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry to analyze mass spectra from collected aerosol samples.
“We are excited to work toward our mission of making the world a better, safer place with our investment in BioFlyte,” Brad Harrison, managing partner of Scout Ventures, said. “Its revolutionary class of fieldable biothreat sampling, detection and identification products for safety and security align squarely with Scout’s focus on dual-use frontier technology. We are thrilled by the progress Todd Sickles and the entire BioFlyte team have demonstrated with their first-scale deployments at Pittsburgh International Airport and at a large New York City financial institution.”