Develop and lead execution on the go-to-market strategy for far-UVC early-adoption.

## Stakes
Far-UVC is one of the most promising pathogen-agnostic defenses. It is essentially a light, typically installed in the ceiling, that continuously kills airborne and surface pathogens, even in rooms full of people. Because it works by physically destroying the pathogen, it is likely to work on every pathogen, whether bacteria or virus, natural or engineered.

There are currently multiple ongoing research efforts to gain the evidence needed to drive widespread adoption, and current evidence is already strong enough to justify deployment into certain settings. However, the field of far-UVC is tiny, with less than ~100 people full-time worldwide, and there is currently no one owning go-to-market for early-adoption.

Without market demand, manufacturing won’t be able to scale and costs will stay high. If no one builds the market, this life-saving technology will stay stuck in the lab.

## Context
Conventional UV is 254nm. This kills pathogens, but it damages human skin and eyes, so it can only be used in already-empty rooms or, creatively, used only near the ceiling of a room. Far-UVC is 222nm light. The shorter wavelengths are absorbed by the outer layer of skin, which is composed of dead cells, and the tear film of the eye, so it never reaches living human tissue. The shorter wavelengths still kill pathogens, making continuous disinfection of occupied spaces possible.

The field has been building evidence to support far-UVC use for a decade. A [room-scale study](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-08462-z) found five ceiling-mounted far-UVC lamps cut airborne bacteria by ~98%. This is equivalent to adding roughly 184 air changes per hour, which is far beyond what typical ventilation or air filtration could deliver. In a 2024 study of a room used for cleaning animal cages, far-UVC lights reduced the level of infectious airborne viruses by 99.8%.

[Blueprint Biosecurity](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/works/blueprint-for-far-uvc/) and [Convergent Research](https://www.convergentresearch.org/resources/convergent/solid-state-far-uvc-roadmapping-workshop-report) are leading efforts to build the evidence base needed for widespread adoption. When these research efforts conclude, it will be critical to move quickly to market. As mentioned above, current evidence is already strong enough to justify deployment in some higher-risk settings, meaning market-building efforts can begin now.

Far-UVC's biggest obstacles are cost and adoption, and both are intertwined. Cost is at least partially a function of scale — today's emitters are expensive mainly because they're made in small quantities. Today far-UVC hardware costs about $100/m², or approximately $1,000 per person protected. [BlueDot Impact analysis](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1siKzEQvZqkKI1oPWpKLPPOWSqJCTB_cIr3PYHSJRYpg/edit?tab=t.0) indicates this needs to fall below $10/m², ideally lower, for mass adoption.

The market leader, Ushio, reported “plunging demand” for far-UVC in 2024, and that it was looking to make more strategic choices about its far-UVC program. However, Ushio still classified the far-UVC program as a growth candidate within its portfolio. This is a sign both of weak demand at today’s prices, but also a sign that far-UVC is a viable business.

A strong market of early adopters would enable manufacturers to invest in production and use economies of scale to drive prices toward the point where far-UVC becomes an easy purchase for infrastructure like schools, hospitals, transit, and offices.

## **Target End-State**
Within ~12 months, there is a list of committed early adopters and at least 2-3 pilot installations. Demand overall is rising.

## **Owner Profile**
This can be led by a driven generalist with the ability to hire out expertise.
The ideal owner profile:
- Strong networker.
- Experience selling product to relevant sectors at different scales.

## **Initial Scoping**
**First 3 Months**
- Talk to [Blueprint Biosecurity](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org).
- Talk to Dewi Erwan.
- Talk to ~50 potential early-adopters.
- Read into existing research.
- Develop a strategy for identifying the highest willingness-to-pay and adopt sectors.
- Write a 1-pager and design a deck that is compelling to potential early-adopters.
- Line up a pilot commitment with a partner manufacturer.

**Key Questions**
- Which sector is highest willingness-to-pay and adopt?
- For which sectors is far-UVC cost-effective enough today, and for which sectors does cost have to fall first? By how much?
- What is the real blocker for adoption: cost, awareness, evidence?
- What is the most compelling framing to potential adopters? (e.g. productivity and performance versus health and safety.)

## **Funders and Partners**
**How much money is behind this?**
A [wave of philanthropic capital](https://nanransohoff.substack.com/p/the-third-wave-of-american-philanthropy) is soon to be available for founders looking to work on important problems like biosecurity. The OpenAI Foundation, for instance, is part of an estimated $37–100B/year in new AI-lab-driven giving. Existing philanthropic capital is also significant. Coefficient Giving alone deploys over $100M per year to biosecurity.

**Potential Funders**
[Coefficient Giving](https://coefficientgiving.org)
[BlueDot Impact](https://bluedot.org)

**Potential Partners and Stakeholders**
[Blueprint Biosecurity](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org)
[Convergent Research](https://www.convergentresearch.org/)
Far-UVC manufacturers/sellers: [Ushio](https://www.ushio.com), [Eden Park](https://edenpark.com), [UV Medico](https://uvmedico.com), [OSLUV](https://osluv.org), [Aerolamp](https://aerolamp.net/pages/about-aerolamp)

## Learn More
[BlueDot Field Strategy: UV air disinfection (far-UVC) — Dewi Erwan](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1siKzEQvZqkKI1oPWpKLPPOWSqJCTB_cIr3PYHSJRYpg/edit)
[Blueprint Biosecurity — Blueprint for Far-UVC](https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/works/blueprint-for-far-uvc/)
[Welch et al. (2022) — Far-UVC (222 nm) efficiently inactivates an airborne pathogen in a room-sized chamber (Scientific Reports)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-08462-z)
[Convergent Research — Solid-State Far-UVC Roadmapping Workshop Report](https://www.convergentresearch.org/resources/convergent/solid-state-far-uvc-roadmapping-workshop-report)
[Cost-Benefit Analysis of Far-UVC Lamps (CERN CAiMIRA model, Switzerland & Germany)](https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.02.25325071v1.full)
[OSLUV Illuminate — far-UVC install modelling tool](https://illuminate.osluv.org/)

## Interested in building this?
Contact: Olivia Scharfman, [olivia@bluedot.org](mailto:olivia@bluedot.org).


Build the Far-UVC Early-Adopter Market