Cupron CEO Christopher Andrews. (Courtesy Cupron)
Cupron, the local company that gained recognition more than a decade ago for its copper-infused socks, is in the midst of a sizable capital raise to fuel its continued evolution.
It recently closed on an initial $4.4 million tranche of what’s expected to be a total $7.5 million round of investor capital.
Founded in Israel in the early 2000s before being bought by a group of investors and relocating to Richmond in 2011, Cupron manufactures additives infused with copper, which is known for its anti-microbial properties. Those ingredients are then blended into a growing range of goods from medical supplies to hygiene products, to textiles and building products.
Cupron gained traction in 2010 after it sent pairs of its copper-infused socks to Chile, where a group of 33 miners were trapped in the San José copper-gold mine in the Atacama Desert. The socks were among a package sent down to the trapped miners while they waited for what became an internationally publicized rescue.
While Cupron’s focus throughout the 2010s was on copper-infused medical textiles like socks, hospital gowns and sheets, CEO Christopher Andrews said its focus grew wider during the COVID-19 pandemic, when customers expressed interest in the copper technology being used in other products.
“We made the decision to evolve beyond the medical device company we were, in the COVID-19 period, to become an ingredient company that serves beyond the medical world,” Andrews said.
There are now products infused with Cupron copper either in the market or in development across industries such as personal care and hygiene, medical devices, textiles, plastics and solids, coatings, water infrastructure, building and construction, specialty industrial, and oil and gas.
Cupron has worked with medical companies like Israel-based MEDCu and Illinois’s Stericycle to create copper enhanced wound dressings and medical waste containers, textile companies like fellow Illinois-based Wells Lamont on copper enhanced workwear, Singapore-headquartered Rivulis on copper enhanced irrigation systems components and more.
Wells Lamont copper socks. The socks use Cupron copper oxide.
The past 24 months, Cupron has focused on establishing the intellectual property and patents that allow it to move into that wide array of industries, Andrews said.
“If [Cupron customers] use our technology in their products downstream, they know they’ve got a technology that’s patent-protected that’s going to be different than other things in the marketplace,” he said.
A total of 12 investors have participated in this latest capital raise thus far. Andrews declined to list specific names, but said the $4.4 million came from investors who have been associated with Cupron for a while who have seen its expansion since 2020.
Cupron is currently in talks with several institutional venture capital companies to raise the second tranche for the rest of the $7.5 million.
With the new $4.4 million in hand, Cupron plans to use the funds to continue its growth as an ingredient provider in personal care and hygiene products. That involves visiting more conferences, trade shows and clients to make customers aware of Cupron’s involvement in more industries, Andrews said.
Cupron has just raised $4.4 million in a Series A round. (Courtesy Cupron)
And with the raise, Andrews said Cupron is excited to continue to bring a wide array of copper-infused products to market.
“The specialty chemical space ran around microbes is a $10 billion annual market that’s been starved for innovation,” Andrews said. “That’s what’s been gratifying for us.…
We didn’t invent copper’s capabilities, but what we have innovated is how we get copper into the products that surround us.”
Cupron is headquartered at 4329 November Ave., near Richmond International Airport in eastern Henrico. It currently has around 20 employees, said Andrews, who joined Cupron in 2010, and became CEO in 2014.
It works with several global manufacturers in Europe, Asia and the United States.
Cupron CEO Christopher Andrews. (Courtesy Cupron)
Cupron, the local company that gained recognition more than a decade ago for its copper-infused socks, is in the midst of a sizable capital raise to fuel its continued evolution.
It recently closed on an initial $4.4 million tranche of what’s expected to be a total $7.5 million round of investor capital.
Founded in Israel in the early 2000s before being bought by a group of investors and relocating to Richmond in 2011, Cupron manufactures additives infused with copper, which is known for its anti-microbial properties. Those ingredients are then blended into a growing range of goods from medical supplies to hygiene products, to textiles and building products.
Cupron gained traction in 2010 after it sent pairs of its copper-infused socks to Chile, where a group of 33 miners were trapped in the San José copper-gold mine in the Atacama Desert. The socks were among a package sent down to the trapped miners while they waited for what became an internationally publicized rescue.
While Cupron’s focus throughout the 2010s was on copper-infused medical textiles like socks, hospital gowns and sheets, CEO Christopher Andrews said its focus grew wider during the COVID-19 pandemic, when customers expressed interest in the copper technology being used in other products.
“We made the decision to evolve beyond the medical device company we were, in the COVID-19 period, to become an ingredient company that serves beyond the medical world,” Andrews said.
There are now products infused with Cupron copper either in the market or in development across industries such as personal care and hygiene, medical devices, textiles, plastics and solids, coatings, water infrastructure, building and construction, specialty industrial, and oil and gas.
Cupron has worked with medical companies like Israel-based MEDCu and Illinois’s Stericycle to create copper enhanced wound dressings and medical waste containers, textile companies like fellow Illinois-based Wells Lamont on copper enhanced workwear, Singapore-headquartered Rivulis on copper enhanced irrigation systems components and more.
Wells Lamont copper socks. The socks use Cupron copper oxide.
The past 24 months, Cupron has focused on establishing the intellectual property and patents that allow it to move into that wide array of industries, Andrews said.
“If [Cupron customers] use our technology in their products downstream, they know they’ve got a technology that’s patent-protected that’s going to be different than other things in the marketplace,” he said.
A total of 12 investors have participated in this latest capital raise thus far. Andrews declined to list specific names, but said the $4.4 million came from investors who have been associated with Cupron for a while who have seen its expansion since 2020.
Cupron is currently in talks with several institutional venture capital companies to raise the second tranche for the rest of the $7.5 million.
With the new $4.4 million in hand, Cupron plans to use the funds to continue its growth as an ingredient provider in personal care and hygiene products. That involves visiting more conferences, trade shows and clients to make customers aware of Cupron’s involvement in more industries, Andrews said.
Cupron has just raised $4.4 million in a Series A round. (Courtesy Cupron)
And with the raise, Andrews said Cupron is excited to continue to bring a wide array of copper-infused products to market.
“The specialty chemical space ran around microbes is a $10 billion annual market that’s been starved for innovation,” Andrews said. “That’s what’s been gratifying for us.…
We didn’t invent copper’s capabilities, but what we have innovated is how we get copper into the products that surround us.”
Cupron is headquartered at 4329 November Ave., near Richmond International Airport in eastern Henrico. It currently has around 20 employees, said Andrews, who joined Cupron in 2010, and became CEO in 2014.
It works with several global manufacturers in Europe, Asia and the United States.
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I’ve yet to try their socks but have read for years about the benefits of copper bracelets. Its intriguing.
any serious science back this up?
I’m not aware of it but a number of hospitals are using copper in the patient rooms and in their supplies. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of what you believe to be true that matters.
Copper is known to be a potent antimicrobial agent. The Cupron socks contain a special form of copper that is more active than the metallic copper we are more familiar with. Additionally, Cupron has published a few studies showing that their copper-embedded textiles also improve skin health by acting as a source of copper ions (a micronutrient).
Can’t rely on reports from the company that sells the stuff. Need to see controlled study by an independent lab.