San Antonio-based Xenex Disinfection Services announced Thursday that is has received $11.3 million in funding.
The funding comes from Battery Ventures, Targeted Technology Fund II and continued investment from existing investors including RK Ventures.
The company will use the funding for product development, international expansion and increasing its U.S. sales force.
An estimated two million people get infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria every year and 23,000 die as a result of their infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To help prevent infection, Xenex makes a portable robot that can disinfect a room using ultraviolet light to destroy viruses, bacteria, mold, fungus and bacteria spores.
“Healthcare associated infections are a global health crisis. In the United States alone, 278 people lose their lives every day from an infection they unnecessarily acquired during their hospital visit. The Xenex technology is proven and is rapidly gaining acceptance. Xenex is the only company whose customers have published peer reviewed outcome studies showing a reduction in infection rates after implementing Xenex’s disinfection technology,” Morris Miller, CEO of Xenex, said in a news release. “We want to get our devices into hospitals as quickly as possible to help solve this enormous problem.”
Nearly 200 hospitals and medical centers currently use Xenex’s room disinfection system.