About Us

Technology From Space
Built for Earth

We're bringing NASA engineering to the buildings that need it most, cutting energy waste and making healthier spaces possible.

Enable healthy ventilation
Remove humidity before cooling
Reduce HVAC energy use

99+

Trusted by 20k+

Customers across the globe

The NASA Breakthrough

Our Founding Story

Aerospace-proven dehumidification, now engineered for Earth.

Dr. Rawand Rasheed was solving a life-or-death problem: how to protect astronauts from the aftermath of water and smoke on spacecraft traveling to Mars. Traditional filtration fails in microgravity. Water droplets do not settle and must be captured. The system had to work flawlessly because in space, there is no backup plan. After years of development at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the Helix MICRA™ filter was born and certified by NASA for the Orion spacecraft.

Back on Earth, the physics stayed the same. Buildings were wasting massive amounts of energy fighting humidity with air conditioning systems that still try to cool and dehumidify at the same time. Dr. Rasheed asked, "What if we applied the same technology that saves astronauts' lives to save energy in buildings?" The answer became Helix Earth.

In 2022, with an exclusive global license from NASA, Dr. Rasheed and serial entrepreneur Brad Husick founded Helix Earth to bring aerospace-grade dehumidification into real buildings, from restaurants and schools to offices and hotels.

2022

From concept to company

Helix Earth was founded with an exclusive global NASA license to deploy MICRA technology in commercial buildings.

50%

AC energy wasted

By 2050, air conditioning could produce more CO2 than all passenger vehicles and aviation combined, and roughly half that energy is wasted.

Our Mission

Cut global HVAC energy use in half. It’s that simple. And that hard.

We’re focusing first on humid climates, where cooling costs are highest, and building performance suffers most. Our phased deployment strategy prioritizes markets where MICRA™ delivers the greatest immediate impact in energy savings and occupant comfort.

Analyze your data
Collaborate securely
Embedded analytics
Easy & intuitive

September 2022

2023

2024

2025

2026+

Incorporation
- Founded by Dr. Rawand Rasheed and Brad Husick
- Exclusive NASA technology license secured
- Launched at Rice University's Liu Idea Lab for Entrepreneurship
Validation
- $1.3M pre-seed raised
- $750K in non-dilutive grants (NSF SBIR Phase I, DOE)
- Lab-scale prototype development
- NASA license finalized
Proof of Concept
- Built first commercial-scale HVAC prototype components
- 80+ properties joined the waitlist
- Won 6 major awards, including SXSW Pitch (Smart Cities)
- Dr. Rasheed named Forbes 30 Under 30 and ACHR 40 Under 40
- Selected for NYU's Endless Frontier Labs; won NYU Urban Future Prize and 2nd in DOE EPIC Prize
- Graduated from Greentown Labs and closed a $6M seed round (led by Veriten)
Commercial Scale
- Scaled to commercial-size units and validated in field tests
- Rooftop and wall-mount testing is underway with early customers across multiple sectors
- Manufacturing partners identified and distribution commitments secured
- Team expanded to 15+ employees
- Dr. Rasheed recognized in FTSG Pioneers & Power Players
Market Entry
- Volume production begins
- First commercial unit deliveries
- Early customer list expands to 50+ buildings
- Multi-site rollouts with anchor customers
- National distribution network activated

Leadership Team

Founders with NASA-grade engineering discipline and proven scale-up execution.

A cleaner, lower-energy future needs both deep technical rigor and commercial momentum. Helix Earth is led by operators who have built both.

Dr. Rawand Rasheed

Co-Founder & CEO

PhD, Mechanical Engineering - Rice University

Rawand holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University and spent over five years at NASA, first as a graduate research fellow and then as a Life Support Systems Engineer.

At NASA's Johnson Space Center, he developed the patented Helix MICRA™ filtration system for the Orion spacecraft. His work focused on life support systems critical for deep space missions, technology that had to work perfectly, every time.

Born in Iraq and raised in the U.S., Rawand is the son of a civil engineer who was the first in his Kurdish family to graduate from high school and university. That legacy of perseverance drives Helix Earth's mission today.

Recognition

Forbes 30 Under 30 (Energy & Green Tech, 2025)
ACHR 40 Under 40 HVACR Professionals (2024)
ASME Mechanical Engineering Magazine Watch List (2025)
FTSG Pioneers & Power Players (Tech Trends Report, 2025)
NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship, DOE IBUILD Fellowship, and Chain Reaction Innovations Fellowship

Brad Husick

Co-Founder & Chief Business Officer

Ex-Apple, BA Astrophysics, MBA Columbia

Brad is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded three successful tech companies with exits including IPO, acquisition, and a privately held company valued at $1.5B. He also had an early entry into a company that reached a $9B peak valuation at IPO.

Before startups, Brad worked at Apple and Hewlett Packard (HP). He holds a BA in Astrophysics from Rice University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

His experience spans product marketing, business development, sales, operations, and fundraising across technology and advertising sectors. At The Ocean Cleanup, Brad worked on sustainability initiatives to remove plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, sparking his commitment to climate solutions.

Brad combines technical knowledge with proven business execution. These well-honed skills are essential for scaling deep-tech hardware from prototype to market.

Our team

Advisory Board

Our advisors bring world-class expertise across aerospace, HVAC, mechanical engineering, entrepreneurship, and climate technology.

Dr. Daniel J. Preston

Professor at Rice University, former Postdoctoral researcher at the Whitesides Research Group.

Greg Powers, PhD

Seasoned executive. Former CTO at Carrier & former CTO at Haliburton.

Gary Wipfler

VP & Corporate Treasurer at Apple for 25 years & Foundation Advisory Council at Naval Post Graduate School.

Dr. Nenad Miljkovic

Founder Professor at UIUC & Director of the Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Center. Former PhD student of Dr. Evelyn Wang.

Kevin Murphy

VP of Business Development at the Hunton Group. 30+ year HVAC veteran in sales & distribution.

David Schurk

National Sales Mngr. at Innovative Air & former sales exec. at Carrier, GPS Solutions, & HTS Engineering.

Andrew Eil

Former partner at Climate Finance Advisors, PLLC, Head of Climate Risk at Tata Consultancy Services.

David J. Neff

2x exits (acquisitions by Accenture and PwC), and former Venture Partner.

Tom Teynor

President & CEO at Bell Heating and Plumbing. Exited Coolerado, an evaporative cooling HVAC company.

Pat Sapinsley

Director at Building Energy Exchange, former Managing Director of the Urban Future Lab, & former CEO at Watt Not.

Research Sponsors

Partnerships & Memberships

Our Values

Fail Fast, Learn Faster

We test rigorously. We learn from what breaks.
We do not punish smart risks.

Impact Over Hype

We are here to cut energy waste, not chase headlines. Our success is measured in kilowatt-hours saved and tons of CO2 eliminated, not in published press releases.

Rigor Meets Speed

We apply NASA-grade engineering standards at startup velocity, test thoroughly, move quickly, and ship hardware that works.

Mission-Driven, Market-Focused

Solving climate problems requires building profitable businesses. We are not choosing between impact and economics. We are proving they are one and the same.

From our CEO

Fail as much as you can. Fail fast. Don’t be ashamed of it. Pursue new things as much as possible. Step outside of your comfort zone and just don’t be afraid to look silly

Dr. Rawand Rasheed, CEO & Co-Founder

Awards & recognition

Built loud. Recognized globally.

A curated wall of milestones across entrepreneurship, climate innovation, and engineering leadership.

2023

TexE Competition: 1st place

Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy

Award

MIT Climate and Energy Prize recognition visual

MIT Climate & Energy Prize: Semi-finalist

Pepperdine Most Fundable Company

Graziadio Business School recognition

2024

NYU Urban Future Prize recognition visual

NYU Urban Future Prize: Future Solutions Prize winner

ACHR 40 Under 40

HVACR Professionals List

DOE EPIC Prize: 2nd place

RE+ competition

Conservative Energy Network Prize

Clean Tech Pitch Contest winner

Endless Frontier Labs

Selected for 2024-2025 cohort

Chain Reaction Innovations

Selected for Cohort 7

2025

SXSW Pitch Winner

Smart Cities, Transportation & Sustainability category

Forbes 30 Under 30

Energy & Green Tech (Dr. Rasheed)

FTSG Pioneers and Power Players recognition visual

FTSG Pioneers & Power Players

Tech Trends Report recognition

ASME Watch List

Mechanical Engineering Magazine

USPTO Startup Showcase

Featured at CES 2025

Pepperdine Most Fundable Companies

Graziadio Business School

Technology From Space Built for Earth