Sonic Fire Tech raises 15 million dollars to extinguish fires with acoustic waves and protect facilities from water and chemical damage

For more than a century, the fire protection industry has relied almost entirely on water and chemicals. While these conventional methods can prevent major disasters, they leave behind severe physical damage and costly cleanup and repair bills for affected properties. Ohio-based startup Sonic Fire Tech is introducing a technical approach that uses acoustic waves to extinguish fires in seconds without residue, announcing the closing of a 15 million dollar funding round led by The Ohio Fund with participation from Khosla Ventures, following an earlier 3.5 million dollar seed round raised in October.

The acoustic system relies on generating infrasonic waves at a frequency of around 20 Hz to suppress flames as soon as a hazard is detected.The system operates through an acoustic generator that channels inaudible sound through plastic piping installed in ceilings. Once sensors detect a fire in the room, the generator activates to direct frequency waves toward the flames, extinguishing them in moments. The company states that its system is unique in self-generating its suppression medium without causing collateral damage to facilities or equipment, which also reduces the costly losses associated with false alarms that discharge water or chemicals unnecessarily.

The company plans to use the new funding to hire additional personnel and conduct a series of rigorous laboratory tests required to secure certification from the National Fire Protection Association, the organization responsible for drafting standards adopted by fire departments across the United States. Although certification processes typically take around three years, Chief Executive and co-founder Geoff Broder expects to shorten that timeline considerably, noting that acoustic system trials leave no mess or residue requiring hours of cleanup and reset between testing rounds in laboratories, accelerating the scheduled testing pace.

The economic case for the technology centers on sparing businesses the prolonged closures that follow fire incidents.In commercial kitchens, for example, company data indicates that 75 percent of establishments never reopen after a fire due to months of demanding restoration and cleanup, particularly as 50 percent of home and kitchen fires originate from cooking oils or electrical faults that conventional water sprinklers cannot tackle effectively. The company is currently in discussions with insurers to evaluate eligibility for insurance premium discounts, encouraging adoption in new commercial and residential developments as well as existing facilities undergoing retrofits.

The company is also testing the ability of its sound waves to contain lithium-ion battery fires, which rank among the most complex challenges facing modern safety systems. While current tests do not completely suppress the internal reaction within a lithium cell, they succeed in cooling the outer casing and preventing ignition, stopping fire spread between adjacent cells and limiting the scale of the fire. Alongside protecting indoor building spaces, the company continues to develop a system designed to protect home exteriors in wildfire-prone areas, offering proactive solutions to halt fire spread before it leads to total losses.