Greenairy is building smart plant towers to clean the air in your office

While working in a university makerspace, founders Tanvi Thombre and Lakshya Saraf began investigating indoor air pollution after staff were exposed to fumes from equipment like laser cutters and 3D printers. They concluded that many commercial indoor environments — schools, offices, hotels and salons where windows remain closed — face persistent risks from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as carbon dioxide, formaldehyde and benzene, which are not always removed effectively by conventional air purifiers.

Greenairy’s solution is a modular plant tower that the founders say accelerates a plant’s natural gas-removal processes by changing the conditions around the plant to increase air exchange and microbial activity. The company compared its tower to a medical-grade ionizer and a HEPA purifier in three offices monitored with RESET-certified sensors; Greenairy reports its towers had the lowest VOC levels and removed VOCs the fastest.

Thombre said the startup observed an immediate improvement during regular office hours, with roughly a 50% reduction in both daily average and peak VOC levels, and that effectiveness improved as plants and associated microbes matured. Staff in the pilot offices also reportedly preferred the natural scent and ambience of the plant towers.

Greenairy says its results have been validated by German testing and certification firm TÜV SÜD and that it will publish those findings soon (results are available on request in the meantime). The founders plan to begin large-scale manufacturing after certification and expect to launch their first mass-produced towers and customer installations in Singapore in the first half of 2027.

The two founders are currently working from different regions — Saraf in Berkeley, California, and Thombre in Singapore — a setup they describe as suitable for early-stage testing and fundraising. Greenairy will participate in Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt in October to present its technology to investors and attendees.