Hospitals have long used ultraviolet light to zap viruses, but the devices were too expensive for businesses and schools. Spurred by the pandemic, an unlikely trio started R-Zero to develop a lower-cost alternative. BillionDollarStartups
rant Morgan was baffled. It was March 2020, Covid was raging across the nation and one of the simplest ways to kill a virus—blasting it with ultraviolet light—was not being used in schools and nursing homes because hospital grade disinfection devices cost over $100,000. But the cofounder and CEO of R-Zero couldn’t understand why: “That’s a lightbulb on wheels with a timer.
With concern over the pandemic fading, Morgan now sees a far bigger opportunity beyond Covid. The same ultraviolet light disinfection technology that inactivates the coronavirus can also help lower the risk of transmission of other diseases, including influenza and norovirus—even monkeypox. Ultraviolet devices, which rely on a short wavelength of light known as UVC, work without toxic chemicals or massive energy use.
It also reinforced his preference for startups over big companies. When Allstate acquired iCracked in February 2019, he stayed just six months before going to another startup. “I don’t have an off switch,” Morgan says. “It’s a blessing and a curse. I am, maybe, maladjusted. The status quo makes me uncomfortable.”
For scientific credibility, they connected with Richard Wade, a toxicology expert who came on as the company’s chief scientist. At 76, Wade, who has a PhD in environmental health sciences from the University of Michigan, had worked in public health for decades, and, among other roles, had been the VP of environmental health at cruise lines Princess and Norwegian. He had, notably, written the protocol for decontamination of the Diamond Princess ship after its Covid-19 outbreak.
“The traditional chemical disinfection industry is highly inefficient,” says Ira Ehrenpreis, managing partner at DBL Partners, an early investor in Tesla who led R-Zero’s $15 million funding round in August of 2020. “It’s ineffective, it’s unsustainable, it’s dangerous and it’s labor intensive.”
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