Irish entrepreneurs back air monitoring company ZiggyTec

ZiggyTec, a company that has developed a platform to continuously monitor air quality inside buildings, has secured €2.5 million in investment from a number of well-known entrepreneurs

Among the angel investors to back the company are Ergo founder John Purdy, One4all founder Michael Dawson and Pa Nolan, one of Fexco's earlier employees and someone who has invested in numerous start-ups including Content Llama, Treemetrics, Scurri, Orecco and Wazp.

Founded in 2018 by Peter and Kieran Murphy who, between them, have considerable experience in engineering and energy trading, ZiggyTec uses internet of things technology to check air quality and send regular reports, and, if necessary, alerts.

Organisations can share information with employees or visitors should they wish via QR codes that can be quickly scanned to get live readings. Information can also be viewed via devices like smartphones and display screens.

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Speaking to The Irish Times, chief executive Kieran Murphy said providing access to live readings gives employees reassurance that management is taking steps to ensure staff are protected while in the workplace.

Wireless sensors

The company, which uses wireless sensors that have long battery life and don’t require wifi, also uses smart sensors to update facilities managers on utility usage.

ZiggyTec was among the companies to make The Irish Times Innovation Awards shortlist last year, where it was a runner-up in the sustainability category. It previously raised €1 million in seed funding.

“Since the coronavirus pandemic occurred we’ve focused heavily on air quality because employers want to make sure buildings are safe for their employees. Even as things get better and we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel with Covid, there is a wish to ensure monitoring continues,” said Mr Murphy.

The company charges €22.50 per monitoring devices. Clients include Irish Life, CBRE, Hines, the Higher Education Authority and Baillie Gifford.

Mr Murphy said the funding will be used to assist the company as it scales internationally with the company having undertaken a number of fitouts for clients in other markets.

“At the moment, the air monitoring side of the business accounts for a small percentage of revenues but we’re expecting it to rise to as much as 60 per cent of sales over time,” he said.