AI laser zapper that shoots mosquitoes mid-flight raises $2.7 million

A Chinese startup has raised $2.7 million on Indiegogo for a portable device that detects and kills mosquitoes in mid-flight using AI and lasers. 4,000 backers from more than 50 countries donated.

Photon Matrix Lab is located in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China. The company has built what it calls a consumer-grade laser defense system against mosquitoes. The device is about the size of a smartphone.

The company’s Indiegogo campaign describes the device as a combination of a computer vision module with lidar to find and kill flying insects. Each backer shelled out about $630 to reserve a unit, according to data from Indiegogo cited by South China Morning Post.

The campaign was first targeted to raise $20,000. It surpassed that by 130+ times.

The device hunts mosquitoes with lidar and AI

The system distinguishes between dust particle movement, mosquito movement, and sensor artifacts. Creator Jim Wong says the device can hit insects flying at up to one meter per second, with body sizes ranging from 2 to 20 millimeters. The company says the device can handle up to 30 mosquitoes a second. That figure has not been independently confirmed by anyone.

Sand flies and fruit flies are also in the device’s targeting range.

In April, Photon Matrix CTO Li Ran told China Daily that Chinese manufacturing gave the company an edge over Western rivals. Li said it takes two weeks to prototype a high-precision fiber laser module in Changzhou, because suppliers are nearby.

“In Silicon Valley, it’s hard to find a supplier who can prototype a high-precision fibre laser module in two weeks,” he told the outlet. “But in Changzhou, the supply chain is right downstairs.”

Chinese firms repurpose military or industrial tech for consumer products with the help of mature local supply chains, cheap lidar, and edge computing, according to SCMP.

Mass production moves to August

Photon Matrix initially promised deliveries in early summer 2026. But the company is now hoping to begin mass production in August.

This sort of delay is common in hardware crowdfunding. Indiegogo and Kickstarter campaigns often do not ship on the original date, and some never ship. Photon Matrix still has to comply with Western safety standards for a consumer laser product. That may mean further delays.

Laser mosquito defense technology has existed since 2007. Astrophysicist Lowell Wood proposed the idea in a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation brainstorming session on malaria elimination, according to Wikipedia. Wood was an aide to the architect of the Strategic Defense Initiative, conceived during the Reagan years. He envisioned using missile defense principles against disease-carrying insects.

Since then, a number of teams have attempted to create commercial versions. But none of them could be produced cheaply on a mass scale. Photon Matrix is a pricey $630 device, but it could be the first viable consumer product in the category.

Climate change is expanding the range of mosquito species that carry dengue and Zika into previously temperate regions. In 2024, the European Union has seen over 300 cases of locally acquired dengue. According to a ClimaHealth report, that’s more than the combined total of dengue cases of all the previous 15 years.