An Albuquerque startup that sells biological threat surveillance technology recently struck a new partnership with a national mail security firm, which the startup's CEO said could contribute to a lot more customer growth.
BioFlyte, the Albuquerque startup, said Tuesday it entered into a "strategic collaboration" with SoBran Inc., a security firm based in Falls Church, Virginia that sells a particular mail screening service called "SafeMail."
SoBran will use a monitoring sensor developed by BioFlyte to offer chemical and biological threat detection and identification for the Virginia company's SafeMail services.
The startup has already sold four instruments to SoBran, Todd Sickles, its CEO, said. Those sensors are in use at three of SoBran's U.S. mail screening operations — in Chantilly, Virginia, the New York City metro area and the California Bay Area.
"We have basically displaced our competitor from all of their internal mail screening operations," Sickles said about BioFlyte's work with SoBran.
That's "big news" for BioFlyte, he added, because SoBran is a "very credible" screening provider in both commercial and federal markets. Working directly with SoBran helps validate BioFlyte's sensor technology for other significant customers, Sickles said.
It's also important because it showed BioFlyte can screen parcels and packages, alongside traditional letter mail. The collaboration with SoBran pushed BioFlyte to advance its monitoring technology in such a way, he said.
Existing BioFlyte customers include one large federal government customer and a pair of commercial customers. Another commercial customer is in the acquisition process for multiple instruments, Sickles said, and there are also several ongoing "strategic evaluations" across sectors.
Those customers represent 13 instruments the startup currently has in operation across the country.
Sickles said BioFlyte expects around 400% revenue growth from customers and a 50% increase in its employee count in 2025.
Customer growth could come domestically and internationally, Sickles added. BioFlyte's "number one" international focus area is the Middle East; he said the startup's currently in conversation with a "major" airport in that region about an evaluation program.
