Philter Labs secured an AUD1 million ($675,376) investment from Atayf Investments and a warrant for an equivalent investment by the end of 2023, according to PR Newswire. Btomorrow Ventures, the venture capital arm of BAT, originally led the financing round. The allocated funds will further propel R&D initiatives within the company. They will also back the introduction of a heat-not-burn device designed specifically for organic substrates with the ability to eliminate secondhand smoke.
Atayf Investments is the Family Office investment group associated with Charlie (Khalil) Shahin AO, managing director of Peregrine Corp. Peregrine operates the On the Run brand of service stations and convenience stores in South Australia; this privately owned Australian company has a broad reach. It also manages Smokemart and GiftBox tobacconists vape and other retail stores throughout Australia.
Charlie (Khalil) Shahin AO, CEO of Peregrine, said, “We are excited about our investment in Philter. Their unique technology and products address consumer trends in vaping and smoking. I’m especially impressed with the caliber of the management team and their vision to address the secondhand smoke issues.”
Philter holds nine granted utility patents and has filed over a dozen additional patents for advanced technologies that miniaturize the filtration footprint. These patents enable Philter technology to be ubiquitous within any vaping device and any form factor for combustibles.
Philter CEO Christos Nicolaidis added, “We are thrilled about this strategic investment from Atayf Investments Pty Ltd. This relationship expands the global reach of our current products in areas where Peregrine has a strong retail footprint. We are excited about advancing our proprietary technologies that will be very disruptive to the smoking and vaping markets that are growing at 14–27 percent CAGR, based on independent industry research.”