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Orlando company utilizes UV light units to protect against coronavirus

Posted on: May 28th, 2020 by Kirenaga Partners

Violet Defense production increased sevenfold amid COVID-19 pandemic

Since the pandemic began, the race has been on for new ways to protect yourself from coronavirus.

Just weeks ago, an advisor with the Department of Homeland Security said that they found the virus dies under ultraviolet rays.

“UV absolutely kills coronavirus,” Violet Defense CEO Terry Berland said.

Berland showed News 6 the technology behind his SAGE units, which stands for surface air germ elimination.

The high-powered flashes of light can clean a space with greater efficiency than aerosol disinfectant sprays because it also neutralizes the air, Berland said.

The bulbs are much more powerful than what you would find in something like a tanning bed, he added. Because of the strength of the technology and UV rays, Berland said the units won’t run if they detect someone present in a room.

Over the past couple of months, Berland said the company has seen an exponential growth in orders.

“We’re about seven times where we were back in February,” he said.

Violet Defense employees have already installed the company’s technology in places like the Amway Center, the arena where Orlando’s NBA team plays, and the Orange County Convention Center.

“Those are just the kinds of spaces that no one ever thought about using UV for disinfecting,” Berland said. “No one ever thought about disinfection as a big thing. Post-COVID, I think all of the world is going to think about all that differently.”

IROC Decontamination is utilizing the technology as part of a newly-debuted mobile trailer that will aid first responders out in the field.

“We’re ready to start moving this around,” IROC Decontamination President Serg Albino said.

Albino told News 6 the trailer will help Seminole County deputies and firefighters with disinfecting gear.

“Decontaminating their bomb suits, their hazmat gear and the larger equipment,” he said. “You can decontaminate a lot of things in about 15 minutes. Large things you cannot spray down with aerosol peroxide, things that corrode easily, and electronics.”

To view the article and watch the video click here

Orlando Firm [Violet Defense] Harnessing UV Rays to Defeat the CoronaVirus

Posted on: May 11th, 2020 by Kirenaga Partners

Like a lot of us, Mark Nathan noticed that no matter how successful a business trip had been, he regularly returned home only to fall ill from the bacteria and viruses he encountered on airplanes, in hotel and conference rooms and everywhere in between.

What sets Nathan apart is that he decided to do something about it, and that decision ultimately placed him on the front lines fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Trained and educated as a scientist and engineer, Nathan began experimenting with UV light and various ways to boost its germ-killing energy ability.

“Think of ultraviolet light as coming in three flavors,” said Terrance Berland, president and CEO of the company that would come of all this research, Violet Defense.

“Basically, you’ve got flavors A, B and C and the sun produces a bunch of it,” he explained. “A and B are what give you a sunburn. C we don’t get too much of because it’s blocked by the ozone layer.

“What our technology does is use a special ultraviolet source, a Xenon bulb, that flashes like a strobe light, and when it does it produces all three of the flavors on the spectrum,” he said.

Once he understood the germ-killing ability of the UV light source, Nathan developed a specialized lens that would both beef up the light’s disinfectant power and keep the system small enough to make it highly mobile and deployable.

Quality assurance testing showed Nathan’s bulb kills up to 99.9% of harmful bacteria and viruses on surfaces and in the air, including the stubbornly death-resistant norovirus.

Read the full article here

Franklin Templeton buys AdvisorEngine in bigger play for advisor desktop

Posted on: May 6th, 2020 by Kirenaga Partners

AdvisorEngine’s platform includes several pieces of core financial advisor tech, including CRM, portfolio management, reporting, marketing and a white-label robo advisor.

Franklin Templeton plans to use AdvisorEngine to create new proprietary technology, including a goals-based financial planning tool and digital portfolio construction analytics. Future products will emphasize “smart automation,” especially the next generation of Junxure, an advisor CRM AdvisorEngine acquired in 2018.

“We’re in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, and technological advances are reshaping how financial solutions are delivered,” said Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson in a statement.

Read the full article here and another release here

Kirenaga Invests in Violet Defense

Posted on: April 20th, 2020 by Kirenaga Partners

Kirenaga Partners is pleased to announce it completed a Series A investment in Violet Defense Group, a technology leader in providing ultraviolet lighting solutions for germ disinfection, as well as agricultural lighting solutions for indoor growing.

Orlando-based Violet Defense utilizes its patented ultraviolet lighting technology to provide full-spectrum germ-killing. Violet Defense’s Surface and Air Germ Elimination (S.A.G.E.) devices can be used in mobile deployments or permanently installed, and their products are currently used in operating rooms, hotels, schools, ambulances, food processing, and athletic facilities. Violet Defense has previously announced collaborations with Siemens and the Orlando Magic, and most recently, is working with Koch Industries in a design collaboration to address PPE and mask issues associated with the COVID-19 crisis.

The investment, led by Kirenaga with participation from existing investor Northwestern University, comes at a time when demand for virus-killing solutions is increasing due to COVID-19. Violet Defense has raised more than $10 million in venture funding, with the vast majority provided by Kirenaga.

Violet Defense expects to use the proceeds to expand its management team, invest in next generation products for both the domestic and international marketplace, and rapidly ramp up manufacturing capacity to meet increased customer demand.

For more information, please contact:

Kirenaga Partners

Dave Scalzo

Managing Partner

(914) 202-6046

david.scalzo@kirenaga.com

Leighton Yenor

Marketing

(407) 575-3918

leighton.yenor@kirenaga.com

Violet Defense

Terrance Berland

Chief Executive Officer

(407) 433-1104 ext 1004

tberland@violetdefense.com

Jessica Jones

Marketing

(407) 433-1104 ext 1002

jjones@violetdefense.com

AFRL, associates improve processes for fabricating aircraft engine inlet ducts

Posted on: March 31st, 2020 by Kirenaga Partners

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – Aircraft engine inlet ducts provide the engine compressor with a constant supply of air to prevent the compressor from stalling. Since the inlet is directly exposed to the impacting airflow, it must create as little drag as possible. The smallest gap in airflow supply can cause major engine problems as well as significant efficiency losses.

Part of the Air Force 2030 Science and Technology strategy includes the deployment of low cost Unmanned Aerial Systems in mass to assist in future near peer engagements. In order to realize this vision, new manufacturing strategies need to be identified which can support the rapid manufacturing of high quality aerospace components at costs that are lower than what are currently available using legacy manufacturing processes.

Read full article here

Device Uses UV light to fight off germs and viruses such as Covid-19

Posted on: March 19th, 2020 by Kirenaga Partners

ORLANDO, Fla. – CEO of Violet Defense, Terrance Berland, said on Wednesday that his company’s product could cut down on the spread of the coronavirus.

Their machine uses ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) light to kill bacteria, germs, and viruses like the coronavirus.

Read Full Article Here

“We Can Do Well By Doing Good”- David Scalzo on CNBC Squawk Alley, January 24, 2020.

Posted on: January 24th, 2020 by Kirenaga Partners

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/01/24/kirenagas-david-scalzo-on-why-one-company-might-be-the-end-of-privacy-as-we-know-it.html

Facial Recognition Technology Doesn’t Have to Destroy Privacy

Posted on: January 23rd, 2020 by Kirenaga Partners

These choices are made by human beings, not some otherworldly force. Technology develops too quickly to be effectively checked by regulation—however necessary that may be—so it’s up to CEOs, executives, and at times employees to reject projects that could so easily be used for malicious purposes.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/facial-recognition-technology-doesnt-have-to-destroy-privacy

Connecting Potential Investors with Local Tech Entrepreneurs

Posted on: January 16th, 2020 by Kirenaga Partners

Digital technology has often been referred to as “the modern frontier” or “the electronic frontier,” recalling images of homesteads, covered wagons, and fur skin caps. But Tuesday’s Upsurge Florida event—organized by Economic Development Administration, in coordination with the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and Bridge Angel Investors, and quietly paid for by Goldman Sachs—used a different image: open water. Framed by beautiful Sarasota Bay, the event occurred at the Sarasota Yacht club, and sought to connect potential investors with local tech entrepreneurs. Water spanning towards the horizon, teasing endless possibility, made a compelling image for an event provoking its attendees to imagine a brand new Florida. A Florida where the capital, like the water, is fluid and plentiful.

The tone of the event was educational—a succinct one hour program (sandwiched between two leisurely paced mixers), aimed at walking its audience through the idea of investing in small scale, early-stage technology companies. Attendees were ‘accredited investors’ meaning that they met certain SEC standards for net worth and minimum income. Speakers like StarterStudio’s Terry Berland, an alumni of McKinsey Consulting, and a veteran of the technology industry, walked these potential investors through Tampa Bay’s financial and academic landscape.

“We see Sarasota-Bradenton as a part of Tampa Bay,” said Terry Berland. “Tampa Bay in our minds is Tampa, St. Pete, Lakeland, Sarasota-Bradenton and all the points in between. We got this grant to promote awareness of the tech industry in the entire 1-4 corridor, and Sarasota is one of our main assets in that pursuit.”

https://www.srqmagazine.com/srq-daily/2020-01-15/12415_Connecting-Potential-Investors-with-Local-Tech-Entrepreneurs

Plenty isn’t your normal family farm.

Posted on: January 9th, 2020 by Kirenaga Partners

.@plenty isn't your normal family farm. This is a fully-automated indoor farm uses groundbreaking technology to grow plants vertically and in water. Their aim is to create a farm that's more land and water-efficient. pic.twitter.com/zyRe9bMlF6
— 3rd Hour of TODAY (@3rdHourTODAY) January 9, 2020