During a particularly nasty wildfire in 2019, Google product manager Winston Mok became dissatisfied with the air purifier products on the markets. Like any enterprising product manager, he decided to build his own.
"Google was sending out emails saying they were sealing all the offices to protect the air quality, but when I tried to do the same for our home, all the products were either really expensive like Dysons or didn't work very well," Mok said.
He left Google and started his own company. San Francisco-based Woosh is developing a 3D-printed air purifier with smart sensors that can detect air quality index levels; the startup recently raised $1.3 million in pre-seed funding from executives from Google, Life360, TI Platform and a number of startup founders.
The company is also launching a Kickstarter, essentially as a way to drive pre-sales before the product is launched.
Woosh's air filters look similar to the standard rectangular ones that fit in home HVAC systems. But instead of being entirely disposable, the inside filter can be removed from the 3D-printed frame. An air quality sensor can sync with Nest or Ecobee smart thermostats to automatically trigger filtered air circulation in a room when air quality drops.
"We're adding that first line of defense," he said. "We want to bring an old technology, cardboard air filters, into the 21st century."
Mok is currently beta testing by giving out prototypes of his product to people across the country via Craigslist and is currently testing it in 100 homes.
The company currently has five employees and plans to begin shipping out the finished product in November of this year.
