Laser Egg's Creators Make Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List; Rebrand as Kaiterra

Liam Bates and Jessica Lam, the masterminds behind the bestselling Laser Egg AQI monitors, are two of several Beijingers ranked in the prestigious new Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia: Consumer Technology list.

Ever the savvy marketers, Bates and Lam are now maximizing their time in the spotlight by launching a new product and rebranding. As of today (Apr 14), Origins officially becomes Kaiterra, with a new focus on not only AQI monitoring but also achieving broader, loftier aims.

“We’re measuring pollution, yes, but our larger goal is to track and map and ultimately find and understand the sources of pollution so we can work to find ways to manage them. Our new name, Kaiterra, reflects this significant shift to precisely mapping the Earth’s air,” Bates said in a press release.

Kaiterra will now not only work towards making air quality monitors for everyday consumers and small businesses, but also for industrial use both in Beijing and abroad. Their devices' data is being combined with government gathered measurements, weather models and satellite imagery to, according to their press release: "show, visually, how pollution is being created, how it is moving, and to identify specific sources. This information can then be used to take action and reduce pollution sources. The result: skies that are bluer, and a happier planet."

The new name and overall company mission is accompanied by a their newly announced Laser Egg 2, now compatible with Apple HomeKit, which Lam says will be more convenient for users, allowing for automated synchronization with air purifiers so that the filter will be turned on whenever the Egg reads high levels of pollutants. This second model will be available in late April via Apple Stores, JD.com, Amazon.cn, and on Kaiterra’s company website, among other outlets. An Android version will follow shortly thereafter

What's more: the company will soon launch a crowdfund for a higher-end version of their device called Laser Egg 2+ that can monitor Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) from furnishings and other in-home sources," which Bates calls a "growing source of health concerns, and a known carcinogen," (read more about TVOCs via the Environmental Protection Agency here). The team hope to start selling the Laser Egg 2+ by June.

Bates tells the Beijinger that making the Forbes 30 Under 30 was "a real surprise, but we're super excited to have been selected. It's a huge stamp of approval for what we're doing here at Kaiterra, and makes us confident that we're going in the right direction, starting to make change, however small, to the planet."

Bates and Lam's company was one of several Beijing startups praised in the Consumer Technology section of the business publication's 30 Under 30 ranking. That business and tech oriented list was but one of the 30 Under 30 lists that Forbes unveiled, with others highlighting pioneering individuals in other industries like entertainment, marketing, venture capital, healthcare and science, and more.

Yet it's the Consumer Technology list that should give Beijingers the most pride. Aside from the Beijing-based Bates and Lam – who are from Switzerland and Canada, respectively – the list also features Ofo bike-sharing startup cofounder Dai Wei. The 25-year-old Peking University alum's cycle revolutionizing business secured him a spot on the Forbes list because Ofo (officially known as Beijing Bikelock Technology) is "expanding rapidly across the country after raising hundreds of millions of dollars from a list of powerful investors including Coatua Management, Chinese ride-sharing service Didi Chuxing, and Russian billionaire investor Yuri Milner."

The list also includes Tao Hu, who turned his football fixation into a successful startup through XunQiu, an app designed to help its 600,000 soccer-loving users find teammates and equipment nearby, record scores, outline techniques and strategies, and more.

Additionally, Justin Sun, a 26-year-old Haidian-based software developer, was featured for his Peiwo app, poised to snatch some attention from established rival Snapchat by connecting users via voice samples and shared interests, allowing them to chat, play games, and live stream. It has thus far wracked up 4 billion successful such connections between its users.

Then there's 27-year-old Sun Tianqi, whose Vincross robotics company, along with his work and research in artifical intelligence and neuroscience, made the Haidian-based whiz kid a no brainer for the 30 Under 30. His six-legged, all-terrain robot HEXA, which is controlled via a mobile app, likely sealed the deal.

Twenty-six-year-old Yang Jianbo (a graduate of Beijing's Beihang University) also impressed in the field of robotics with his Keyi Technology CellRobot modulars, which can be rearranged into as many as 100 different shapes and, through a smartphone app, can be controlled for a broad range of simple tasks such as filming video, watering plants, and pouring wine.

Despite the robust amount of Beijing-bred entrepreneurs on the list, it is Bates and Lam's startup that stands out prominently within Beijing's expat community. After all, since launching they have partnered with several popular bars and restaurants across the city to keep venues clear of pollutants, put on and been a part of numerous popular events, and catered to an increasingly concerned clientele looking for accurate, convenient air quality monitoring. It is their ubiquitous presence, gained largely via word of mouth, that in turn lead the Laser Egg to be a top seller.

The number of ambitious young Beijingers on Forbes' is a huge nod to the city's flourishing startup scene and a promising development in the many more inventions to come out of the city, although it does leave those of us under 30 to wonder what exactly we're doing with our lives. To that we say, there's always next year.

You can read more about the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia: Consumer Technology list here.

More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Photos: Kaiterra, All China Tech, Uni, Forbes