Taejun Kim, CEO of Avirtual, an AI-based air sterilization specialist, has visited the Middle East greater than 10 times over the past yr and a half.
Particularly, in February, the corporate participated within the ‘2024 Saudi International Construction and Architecture Exhibition’ held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following the ‘Arab Health 2024’, the biggest event within the Middle East, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The reason is ‘marketing through on-site networks’. Because of this, the Avirtual air sterilizer ‘a.wear’ was recently supplied to the Dubai store of Sharafdiji, the biggest electronics distributor within the Middle East.
CEO Kim Tae-joon said, “The Sharaf Dizzy stores currently open are among the many top 6 within the UAE,” and added, “Our goal is to enter all 30 stores within the UAE inside this yr.”
He continued, “There have been many cases of domestic startups exhibiting within the UAE and entering the local market in reference to government agencies, but that is the primary time they’ve achieved visible results, similar to successfully distributing products on their very own.”
Particularly, air purification and sterilization are fields wherein large domestic and foreign firms have already established themselves. The reason is that the explanation why a 4-year-old startup is starting to point out results is since it has clear technological differentiation.
CEO Kim emphasized that Avirtual technology is just not simply ‘air purification’ but ‘sterilization technology’. The difference is that it destroys bacterial genetic structures similar to RNA and DNA.
It is straightforward to grasp in the event you take a look at the structure of the device. Existing air purifiers are equipped with ▲ a ‘free filter’ that filters out large dust, ▲ a ‘carbon filter’ that removes odors, and ▲ a ‘HEPA filter’ that catches nice dust. Avirtual is similar up up to now.
But at the tip, we added a ‘special photocatalytic filter’ coated with nano metal. Unlike general photocatalytic technology, the nano metal filter increases the efficiency of generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) within the air by as much as 90 times. And the reactive oxygen species generated at the moment destroy the genetic structure of harmful bacteria and substances.
Here, artificial intelligence (AI) was introduced in earnest. He said this is just not only a difficulty related to performance improvement, but additionally consumer trust.
The reason is, “Even in the event you use an air sterilizer, you possibly can only hear explanations verbally, and an interface (UI) that means that you can visually check the sterilization status has not yet appeared.” “Accordingly, we’re developing a sterilizer that may use AI to acknowledge kinds of hazardous substances, accurately sterilize them, and even share the outcomes through a display,” he said.
It’s difficult to detect microscopic bacteria within the air with vision AI. Due to this fact, we adopted a form that mixes photocatalytic activation (material chemistry technology) and AI to capture and analyze a portion of the air. It is analogous to the principle of testing for coronavirus infection. It is analogous to the tactic of collecting a portion of droplets and conducting a test.
It was reported that AI sensors are currently able to learning 50 representative hazardous substances. It’s being developed jointly with the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST).
CEO Kim emphasized, “Currently, Airway has the powerful ability to sterilize 60 cubic meters (60㎥) in only 5 minutes, so if we add accurate evaluation capabilities, the effect might be even greater.”
These efforts were coupled with environmental aspects within the Middle East region. Within the Middle East, respiratory diseases have been prevented and managed at a national level attributable to the influence of the desert climate. Air sterilization matched local needs.
CEO Kim Tae-joon said, “After repeated field visits, we agreed to collaborate as a partner with MEA, a Middle Eastern company, and later, by likelihood, we continued to collaborate with Sharaf Digi.” He added, “I noticed the powerful effect of hands-on field networking.” .
He continued, “If we successfully enter Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia by the tip of this yr, we are able to expect sales of over 13 billion won.”
He also repeatedly emphasized, “Through regular technological development, we’ll solve even small particles similar to nice dust, bacteria, and viruses that would not be captured by existing purifiers with AI and nano coating technology.”
Meanwhile, Avirtual is preparing to open Round A investment.
Reporter Jang Se-min semim99@aitimes.com
