Mahaton Disinfection Secures Millions in Angel Funding Led by Zhoulin Spectrum

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned that Mahaton Disinfection, an innovative smart hardware company specializing in disinfection, announced that it secured angel-round financing amounting to several million RMB at the end of 2018. This round was led by Zhou Lin Spectrum, a long-established Chinese healthcare enterprise.

Mahaton Smart Disinfection was founded in 2018 by Paul Chen, former Business Development Director for China at an emerging Silicon Valley UV LED chip company, and Tony Zhong, a senior industrial designer in China. It is a provider of intelligent solutions for household microbial contamination prevention and control, originally incubated at Northeastern University’s IDEA Venture in Boston, USA.

Currently, the company has leveraged its core deep ultraviolet (DUV) UV LED + plasma disinfection technology to develop a range of innovative smart hardware products tailored for household scenarios—such as maternal and infant care, kitchen and bathroom hygiene—as well as the pet market. These products have obtained relevant certifications from domestic and international institutions, including the National Institute for Environmental Health and Related Product Safety of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Guangzhou Microbial Testing Center, and SGS.

It has been said that the history of human development is essentially a history of struggle against bacteria. It was not until the advent of penicillin more than 60 years ago that its status as the leading killer threatening human health was brought to an end. However, due to misuse, an increasing number of antibiotics are losing their efficacy. As public mindset shifts from a disease-oriented perspective to a health-oriented one, proactive disinfection and prevention are playing an increasingly vital role in the healthcare sector.

Paul Chen, co-founder of Mahaton Disinfection, told VCBeat that most disinfection products currently on the market still rely primarily on ultraviolet (UV) mercury lamps, also known as mercury vapor lamps. Although the technology for UV mercury lamps is relatively mature and their cost is comparatively low, these lamps are prone to breakage. While elemental mercury is colorless and odorless, it poses significant health hazards; therefore, lamp breakage can create substantial safety risks.

Pursuant to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, approved by the Decision of the 20th Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress of China in April 2016, the 128 contracting parties, including China, are required to prohibit the production, import, and export of mercury-containing products starting from 2020.

“Replacing existing ultraviolet mercury lamp disinfection with more advanced and safer sterilization technologies is an inevitable trend,” summarized Paul Chen. Compared to traditional UV mercury lamps, Mahaton Disinfection’s UV LED + plasma technology offers several advantages:

1. It can disrupt bacterial structures at both the DNA and RNA levels. Currently, deep ultraviolet (UV) LED technology has been experimentally proven to effectively achieve a 6-log reduction rate (99.9999%).

2. Free of mercury and other harmful chemicals, with no chemical residues.

3. IoT connectivity for seamless integration with digital technology platforms.

4. Stable performance, compact size, and portable charging capability.

5. Does not induce bacterial resistance.

Tony Zhong, co-founder of Mahaton Disinfection, is the founder of Pinwu Design, a top 10 industrial design firm in China. The smart hardware products he led in design have won internationally renowned awards, including the Red Dot, Red Star, iF, IDEA, and Good Design Awards.

Another co-founder, Paul Chen, graduated from Northeastern University in Boston. He previously worked at PwC and the consulting division of RSM, before joining a UV-C LED chip company in Silicon Valley, where he served as Director of Business Development for China. In 2018, he founded Mahaton Disinfection.

Manhattan Smart Disinfection centers on UV LED and plasma disinfection technologies, launching a range of smart disinfection products tailored to various application scenarios, starting with maternal and infant care items.

Its first maternal and infant product sterilizer—the deep UV portable baby bottle sterilizer—adopts deep UV LED sterilization technology, featuring high efficiency, mercury-free operation, blind-spot-free coverage, and protection against scalding. It also completely avoids the leaching of potentially present bisphenol A (BPA) components, achieving a 99.99% sterilization rate within three minutes. The product was launched on JD.com last November, priced at approximately RMB 600. In the future, Mahaton aims to further reduce its product prices through continuous technological advancements, enabling more people to benefit from the convenience offered by this technology.

Portable Deep UV Baby Bottle Sterilizer (Photo provided by the interviewee)

Paul Chen stated that Manhattan Smart Disinfection’s product portfolio is primarily categorized by application scenarios. The new round of financing will be used to support the upcoming launch of three products: a disinfecting insulated tumbler, a toilet sterilizer, and a portable tableware sterilizer.

Zhoulin Spectrum is a high-tech enterprise centered on the proprietary biological spectrum technology independently developed by its founder, Mr. Zhou Lin. Currently, the application of this technology has expanded from its initial focus on human body spectra to encompass biological spectra covering plants, animals, and microorganisms. This investment, based on products utilizing deep ultraviolet LED technology, will help broaden its footprint in the healthcare sector.

Manhattan Smart Disinfection, founded in 2018 by Paul Chen, a former employee of an emerging Silicon Valley UV LED chip company, and Rong Zhong, a senior industrial designer in China, is a leading domestic provider of intelligent solutions for household microbial contamination control. The company was initially incubated at the IDEA Venture program of Northeastern University in Boston, USA.

Beijing Zhoulin Spectrum Technology Co., Ltd., established in 1991, is a high-tech enterprise integrating research and development, manufacturing, sales, and services. Currently, the company primarily manufactures and sells Class II medical devices. Its products mainly function to promote blood circulation, improve hemorheology, enhance metabolism, improve nervous system function, and boost immune capacity.