New Mexico startup ABQ Bright will raise an angel funding round for what it says is an advanced type of LED lighting technology that it has put on the market.
By using certain types of driver circuits — electrical circuits or components used for controlling other circuits or components — the startup says it has LED lightbulbs that are more efficient. And now, the company is using its technology to try to kill airborne pathogens with ultraviolet light.
CEO Issac Barbosa told Business First that the company has "essentially the world's most efficient LED-driver circuit." The company developed the technology in-house, however, it also worked with Sandia National Laboratories for testing, he said.
ABQ Bright was founded in 2020 and was focusing solely on the lightbulb market. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, funding sources for ABQ Bright dried up. So the company pivoted to the ultraviolet space — at least in part. Ultraviolet-C radiation in particular "has effectively been used for decades to reduce the spread of bacteria, such as tuberculosis," according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
Patrick Ruiz, VP of business development at ABQ Bright, said in an interview that the company is in "angel territory" and has raised money, but he declined to disclose a specific amount.
ABQ Bright has six U.S. patents, Ruiz said. The startup will also work with a contractor to install ultraviolet systems at Santa Ana Pueblo facilities, he told Business First in an email. ABQ Bright's product line is split up into three parts: general and agricultural lighting plus UV disinfecting.
Also in 2022, ABQ Bright plans to create a dozen jobs and a manufacturing facility somewhere in the Albuquerque and Los Lunas area. The company anticipates hiring for lab techs, manufacturing and engineering positions. Barbosa said the company does not want to create "high-turnover" jobs.
