Ao Air

What Ao Air does

Ao Air is a privately held, New Zealand-headquartered company (24 Balfour Road, Parnell, Auckland) that designs and sells the Atmōs, an intelligent wearable air respirator combining a proprietary positive-pressure air-seal hardware design with the D'Fend active nanofiltration system (>98% PM2.5 efficiency) and a multi-sensor suite (thermometers, hygrometers, anemometers, accelerometers, air-quality and VOC sensors). The device uses a Bluetooth-enabled adaptive brain to track respiratory activity and modulate performance, while a cloud analytics backend aggregates 90,000+ data points and ingests external governmental and private datasets to predict environmental threats. Performance is independently validated by Auckland University of Technology at up to 50x better protection than market-leading air filter respirators.

The company pursues a direct sales-led B2B go-to-market, with primary customer verticals in industrial welding (hexavalent chromium mitigation), open-pit mining (VOC detection and remote dispatch air quality monitoring), oil & gas, and maintenance operations, alongside secondary applications in athletic performance, military, pandemic preparedness, and extreme environmental monitoring. Revenue is generated through hardware sales of the Atmōs device and customized industrial air quality monitoring systems; pricing is not publicly disclosed and there are no named enterprise customer logos in the source material. Ao Air is actively seeking co-development partnerships with vertical specialists and has raised approximately $2.16M in disclosed funding (SOSV/URBAN-X pre-seed in 2017, and Blackbird Ventures/Oregon Sports Angels seed plus a COVID-19 Innovation Acceleration Fund grant in July 2020).

Name

Ao Air

Legal name

Ao Air

Website

https://ao-air.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ao Air (Aō-Air) is a New Zealand-based private company that builds the Atmōs intelligent wearable respirator, combining proprietary positive-pressure air-seal hardware, D'Fend nanofiltration, multi-sensor monitoring, and cloud analytics, primarily serving industrial B2B customers in welding, mining, oil & gas, and maintenance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smart Personal Protective Equipment / Wearable Air Filtration

NAICS

Industrial and Commercial Fan and Blower and Air Purification Equipment Manufacturing (333413), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Industrial & Commercial Fans & Blowers & Air Purifing Equip (3564), Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829)

akta.pro primary industry

Air Quality & Filtration Equipment (IAQ) (IMAHAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Ruggedized/Harsh-Environment Electronics Manufacturing (IP-rated, shock/vibration, wide-temp) (IMAGAGAF)

Keywords

• Smart respirator devices
• Air filtration systems
• Wearable air quality sensors
• Industrial respiratory protection
• Pollution monitoring hardware

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Atmōs Hardware Sales: Sale of the Atmōs wearable air protection device - a reusable mask alternative for industrial and recreational use
2. Industrial Air Quality Monitoring Systems: Customized sensor and monitoring systems for industrial settings including mining, welding, and oil & gas applications

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ao Air designs, manufactures, and sells the Atmōs, a reusable smart wearable respirator that combines a proprietary positive air pressure air-seal design, D'Fend active nanofiltration (>98% PM2.5 capture), an embedded multi-sensor suite, a Bluetooth adaptive-performance module, and a cloud analytics backend. It also develops customized industrial air quality monitoring systems for verticals such as welding, mining, oil & gas, and maintenance, addressing hazardous fumes, VOCs, hexavalent chromium, and extreme-environment protection.

Product overview

Aō-Air offers a unified product portfolio centered on the Atmōs intelligent mask system. The Atmōs combines a proprietary positive air pressure 'air-seal' hardware design with multiple sensor technologies (thermometers, hygrometers, anemometers, accelerometers, air quality sensors for pollutants and VOCs), a Bluetooth brain for real-time respiratory tracking, and cloud analytics for environmental threat prediction. The company also develops targeted applications for specific industries including welding, open pit mining, pandemic solutions, military solutions, and extreme environmental monitoring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Atmōs: Reusable air filtration mask utilizing proprietary D'Fend system and active nanofiltration with Bluetooth-enabled breath tracking.

Products and services

• Atmōs An intelligent, reusable wearable respirator that uses a proprietary positive air pressure air-seal design, D'Fend active nanofiltration capturing >98% of PM2.5, a multi-sensor suite, and a Bluetooth brain that adapts performance to the user's respiratory activity. Marketed as a reusable alternative to disposable allergy, antipollution, and smoke masks, and as protective equipment for industrial users in welding, mining, oil & gas, and maintenance environments.
• Industrial Air Quality Monitoring Systems Customized sensor and real-time air quality monitoring systems built on Ao Air's multi-sensor technology, designed for industrial settings such as welding, open-pit mining, oil & gas, and maintenance. Provide real-time detection of pollutants and VOCs, enabling remote dispatch crews to manage and respond to emissions for worker safety and environmental compliance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 50x better protection than market-leading air filter respirators, pollution masks and allergy masks
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered target.

• Mining Industry InnovatorstargetStrategic or Co-development PartnerAo-Air is actively seeking partnerships with innovators in protective equipment for mining, oil & gas industries, and maintenance operations where extreme conditions challenge conventional safety gear efficacy. The goal is to co-develop targeted applications for workplace safety and develop durable, reliable solutions for environments with extreme temperatures and harsh conditions.
• Oil & Gas Industry PartnerstargetStrategic or Co-development PartnerAo-Air seeks partnerships with organizations developing solutions for demanding scenarios in oil & gas operations where extreme temperatures and harsh conditions often compromise protective equipment use. Focus on redefining safety standards and protecting workers in challenging environments.
• Maintenance Operations PartnerstargetStrategic or Co-development PartnerTargeting partnerships with maintenance operations specialists who face challenging work environments. Collaboration aimed at addressing the critical need for durable, reliable safety solutions where conventional protective equipment often fails.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• 3M: Global leader in industrial respiratory protection (N95, half-mask, full-face respirators) and dominates mining, oil & gas, and welding PPE procurement. Ao Air must displace or partner with 3M to win industrial vertical share.
• LG Electronics (PuriCare): Launched the LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier, a battery-powered wearable with HEPA filtration and sensors. LG is a global electronics giant with the manufacturing scale and retail reach to dominate the smart-mask category that Ao Air also targets.
• Dyson: Released the Dyson Zone, a wearable air-purifying headset combining ANC headphones with air filtration. Dyson is a much larger incumbent with deep R&D, manufacturing, and global distribution that overshadows smart-mask startups like Ao Air.
• Honeywell: Major industrial PPE and respiratory protection manufacturer with strong NorthTrack and North series half-mask/full-face respirators serving oil & gas, mining, and heavy industry — overlapping directly with Ao Air's target verticals.
• Dräger: German safety and medical technology company with extensive industrial respiratory protection and gas detection product lines serving mining, oil & gas, and chemical sectors — overlapping with Ao Air's hazardous-environment verticals.
• MSA Safety: Industrial safety equipment leader (now part of MSA) with broad respiratory protection portfolio serving mining, oil & gas, and welding. Strong incumbent Ao Air must compete against for industrial PPE contracts.

Direct peers

• AirPop: Direct-to-consumer smart air mask startup with embedded sensors and an app for breath analytics. Most comparable early-stage peer to Ao Air's consumer/atmospheric monitoring positioning, though AirPop lacks industrial-grade ruggedization.
• Razer: Launched the Zephyr smart mask with active filtration and RGB lighting; competes with Ao Air in the smart wearable respirator category. Both target consumer/prosumer buyers with sensor-equipped filtration, though Razer focuses on gaming/lifestyle while Ao Air emphasizes industrial.
• Cambridge Mask Co: Reusable respirator mask company using military-grade filtration (PM2.5/VOC) for consumer and B2B buyers. Comparable in positioning to Ao Air's reusable, high-filtration smart mask, though without the sensor/cloud analytics layer.

Emerging players

• BreatheSafe (Industrial PPE): Specialist in industrial respiratory protection for mining and heavy industry in Australia/NZ. Operates in the same regional and vertical space as Ao Air and represents a more direct industrial competitor in the Australasian market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aofacewear
• Facebookfacebook.com/aofacewear
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aoair

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ao Air