How clean is the air in your workplace? That’s the question Tanvi Thombre and Lakshya Saraf began investigating when they were engineering students who worked in their university makerspace.
In fact, Thombre said via email that, while working in the space, they were “unknowingly exposed to toxic fumes from laser cutters, 3D printers, and soldering irons,” but they didn’t realize it until her best friend fainted and had to go to the hospital.
After that, Thombre said, “We began investigating indoor air pollution and realized it was an invisible but dangerous health risk — especially in schools, offices, hotels, salons, and any commercial buildings where air-conditioning prevents windows from being opened.”
Those issues persist even when a building is equipped with air purifiers, as their makerspace was. The problem, according to Saraf, is that although purifiers are good at cleaning out particulate matter like dust and pollen, they are less effective at removing toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, and benzine (many of which are classified as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs — chemicals that evaporate easily into the air).
Thombre said that VOCs are linked to chronic disease and “sick building syndrome,” a condition in which occupants experience health effects and discomfort after spending time in a building, even though no specific cause or illness has been identified. She also pointed to Harvard research showing that improving indoor air quality improved cognitive function and productivity.
That’s why the pair is targeting toxic gases in the workplace with their startup Greenairy, which will be at this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt as part of the Startup Battlefield 200.
Greenairy’s approach centers on building plant towers that are supposed to draw in air, break down toxic gases, and then release the purified air. As Saraf put it, “A plant in a pot cleans air slowly. But, when we change the conditions around the plant, it cleans air much faster and better than these conventional methods.”
Sara also said that while some air purifier filters can remove “a narrow range of VOCs,” those filters need to be changed frequently to be effective. In contrast, plants are “a natural solution, no harmful byproducts are formed, and no filter replacement is required.”
Greenairy has already conducted short-term pilots at locations around Singapore. Saraf said that in the startup’s own testing using RESET-certified air monitors, it compared three offices: one with Greenairy plant towers, one that had a medical-grade ionizer (a device that uses an electrical charge to make dust and other particles clump together and fall out of the air), and a third with a HEPA air purifier that traps very small particles.
“Our tower had the lowest VOC levels and removed VOCs the fastest,” she said. “The office staff also grew fond of the natural ‘fresh’ aroma of the tower and the natural vibe it brought.”
Thombre added that they saw an “immediate” improvement within regular office hours, with a 50% reduction in both the daily VOC average and peak levels. She said the results improved even more “as the plants and microbes mature and the gases are prevented from accumulating.”
Greenairy has also had its results validated by the German testing and certification firm TÜV SÜD and will be publishing them soon. (Results are available upon request in the meantime.) The pair plans to begin large-scale manufacturing after the results are certified.
The startup’s founders are currently based on opposite sides of the world, with Saraf in Berkeley, Calfornia, and Thombre in Singapore. It’s an arrangement that Saraf said “works well at this stage,” allowing one founder to focus on testing in Singapore while the other can fundraise in the Bay Area.
“If things go to plan, both of us will be in Singapore by the first half of 2027,” she added. “That’s when we expect to launch our first mass-produced towers and install them for our first customers” in Singapore.
Join us next week in San Francisco to learn more about the company and the dozens of other teams pitching to VCs at Disrupt.