Hannah Sieber knows how transformative batteries can be. At her previous startup, EcoFlow, she used them to replace generators, whether to power homes after a bad storm or RVs on a camping trip. The experience made her wonder what else batteries could do, especially smaller ones.
“What are the other industries that could change dramatically?” he remembered thinking at the time.
After he left EcoFlow and while studying at Stanford, he hit her. He had researched how California blackouts, which are meant to limit fire danger, have disproportionately affected people of different means.
He observed that utilities were spending more on generators and microgrids in wealthier communities, leaving smaller, poorer communities in the lurch. “I’ve seen the impact of what happens during a 56-hour outage if you’re a small business and your refrigerator loses power and suddenly you have to buy more inventory,” he told TechCrunch. “That was kind of that ‘ah ha’ moment.
Sieber started digging deeper into cooling, looking for places where battery cooling can make a difference. He quickly became involved in shipping after reading about its climate impacts.
“Could we electrify the cold chain?” she said she asked herself. “And what would battery powered shipping look like?”
Sieber’s latest startup, Artyc, is her answer to that question. The company has quietly raised $14 million to date, according to PitchBook, and markets a product, the Medstow Micro, that helps hospitals, clinical trials and medical labs ship temperature-sensitive samples.
The device is a white plastic cube, small enough to be held in one hand. Open the lid and up to four vials can be stored inside. On the outside, there’s a USB-C port for charging a lithium-ion battery that powers a solid-state heat pump, which provides cooling or heating depending on outside conditions. The cube can hold samples at 3 degrees C (37.4 degrees F) for at least 56 hours. Thermometers, accelerometers and GPS track the package, and a cellular connection allows customers to track its precious cargo.
Artyc leases the boxes to its customers, and because one of its boxes can replace both tracking hardware and disposable ice packs or dry ice, Sieber said they tend to break even after about four shipments. Plus, because the boxes are reusable, their carbon footprint is better than competing methods after just two shipments, he added.
One of Sieber’s goals with Medstow Micro is to expand patient access to clinical trials. Currently, most are run out of large hospitals in large metropolitan areas. As a result, many people who might be eligible tend to be excluded, harming not only patients, who miss out on potentially life-changing treatments, but also the field of medicine itself, as trials that include more diverse patients tend to produce treatments that benefit more people.
Artyc’s next product will hold five liters and will likely target expensive, temperature-sensitive foods such as herbs, chocolate and wine. Then, in 2025, the startup plans to make the 25-liter size available. “For many of our customers, it’s actually what they can’t ship today that they wish they could ship,” Sieber said.
Other uses have emerged, he said. Hospitals and clinical labs said they are considering using Artyc’s boxes as additional, airtight storage or as mobile coolers to simplify rounds. “Imagine a world where you have this on site and a mobile phlebotomist grabs it, makes rounds throughout the day and brings it back,” he said.
Sieber is looking beyond healthcare to developed countries like the US. “We’ve had great discussions with some global health institutions,” he said. Currently, the team is trying to figure out how to guarantee the temperature of the contents in mild conditions.
“If you’re trying to get to a rural community and the road quality isn’t what you expect and delays are happening, how do you create a buffer?” he said. However, she is optimistic. “We think it’s easier to find a way out of dry ice.”
