Sunny Sethi, the founder of HEN Technologies, doesn’t appear to be someone who has changed an industry that has seen little transformation since the 1960s. His company specializes in fire nozzles—specifically, nozzles that reportedly boost suppression rates by up to 300% while saving 67% of water. However, Sethi is straightforward about this accomplishment, prioritizing future goals over past achievements. And what’s on the horizon is much bigger than just fire nozzles.
His journey into firefighting isn’t a conventional story. After earning his PhD at the University of Akron, focusing on surfaces and adhesion, he founded ADAP Nanotech, which developed a portfolio based on carbon nanotubes and won grants from the Air Force Research Lab. Following that, he moved to SunPower, where he developed new materials and processes for shingled photovoltaic modules. His next role at TE Connectivity involved working on devices with new adhesive formulations to streamline manufacturing in the automotive sector.
The turning point came from a challenge posed by his wife. After moving from Ohio to the East Bay outside San Francisco in 2013, they experienced the Thomas Fire, thinking it might be the only megafire they would encounter. But then came the Camp Fire and the Napa-Sonoma fires. In 2019, during evacuation warnings while he was traveling, Sethi’s wife was home with their three-year-old daughter, alone and facing a potential evacuation order. “She was really mad at me,” Sethi reminisces. “She’s like, ‘Dude, you need to fix this, otherwise you’re not a real scientist.’”
His diverse background in nanotechnology, solar, semiconductors, and automotive gave him a flexible, unbiased approach to problem-solving. Having seen many industries tackle various challenges, he decided to take a stab at fixing the issue of firefighting.
In June 2020, he founded HEN Technologies, which stands for high-efficiency nozzles, in nearby Hayward. With funding from the National Science Foundation, he conducted research in computational fluid dynamics to analyze how water suppresses fire and the influence of wind. This research led to the creation of a nozzle that accurately controls droplet size, manages velocity in innovative ways, and withstands wind.
During a Zoom call, Sethi shares a comparison video that starkly illustrates the differences between HEN’s nozzle and traditional options. He explains that while both nozzles have the same flow rate, HEN’s nozzle maintains a coherent stream, unlike the scatter of conventional nozzles.
However, the nozzle is just the starting point—what Sethi refers to as “the muscle on the ground.” HEN has diversified its offerings to include monitors, valves, overhead sprinklers, and pressure devices. This year, they are set to launch “Stream IQ,” a flow-control device, along with discharge control systems. Each device features custom-designed circuit boards laden with sensors and computing power—totaling 23 different designs that transform ordinary hardware into smart, connected devices, powered in some cases by Nvidia Orion Nano processors. So far, HEN has filed 20 patent applications, with several already approved.
The real breakthrough lies in the integrated system these devices form. HEN’s platform employs sensors at the pump that act as virtual sensors in the nozzle. This system tracks when it’s activated, how much water flows, and the required pressure. It meticulously captures data on water usage for specific fires, the hydration sources tapped, and current weather conditions.
This is significant because fire departments often run out of water due to a lack of communication between water suppliers and firefighters—a situation seen during the Palisades and Oakland Fires. When two engines are connected to a single hydrant, pressure variations can leave one engine without water while a fire rages on. In rural areas, water tenders—tankers transporting water from distant sources—face their own logistical challenges. Integrating water usage calculations with utility monitoring systems could optimize resource allocation, a major win for firefighting.
To address this, HEN has developed a cloud platform with application layers, reminiscent of Adobe’s cloud infrastructure. The platform offers customized functions for fire captains, battalion chiefs, and incident commanders. It features weather data and GPS across all devices, alerting crews if wind shifts or if a particular fire truck is running low on water.
The Department of Homeland Security has expressed interest in a system like this through its NERIS program, aiming to implement predictive analytics for emergency operations. “But you can’t have [predictive analytics] unless you have quality data,” Sethi notes. “And you can’t have quality data without the right hardware.”
Currently, HEN isn’t monetizing this data. Instead, it’s deploying data nodes and integrating devices into as many systems as possible to build a robust data pipeline and lake. Sethi plans to start commercializing the application layer with built-in intelligence in the coming year.
Selling this predictive analytics platform for emergency response poses its own challenges, and Sethi takes pride in HEN’s progress in that area. “The toughest part is that this market operates like a B2C model when it comes to convincing customers, but the procurement cycle is B2B,” he explains. “You have to create something that resonates with end users while navigating government purchasing processes, and we’ve managed to do both.”
The numbers reflect this progress. HEN launched its first products in Q2 2023 and secured 10 fire department contracts, generating $200,000 in revenue. As word spread, revenues soared to $1.6 million in 2024, then $5.2 million the following year. HEN now has around 1,500 fire department customers and projects $20 million in revenue this year.
Competition exists in the market, with companies like IDEX Corp selling similar products and software firms like Central Square providing services to fire departments. In Miami, First Due recently announced a $355 million funding round for their public safety software. However, Sethi insists that no one is “doing exactly what we are trying to do.”
The real challenge for HEN isn’t demand but scaling quickly enough. The company services the Marine Corps, U.S. Army bases, Naval atomic labs, NASA, and has expanded to 22 countries. They work via 120 distributors and have recently qualified for the GSA, enhancing accessibility for military and government purchases.
With fire departments purchasing around 20,000 new engines annually to replace aging fleets, once HEN is integrated, it sets the stage for recurring revenue—exploiting the data generated between purchase cycles.
To achieve these ambitious goals, HEN has built a specialized team, including a software lead who played a crucial role in developing Adobe’s cloud infrastructure. The company’s 50-person team also features veterans from Tesla, Apple, and Microsoft. “If you ask me technical questions, I might not know everything,” Sethi admits with a laugh. “But having such skilled teams has been a true blessing.”
While HEN primarily sells nozzles, it is also gathering invaluable data—detailed, real-world information about water dynamics, flow rates, fire suppression techniques, and physics in active fire scenarios. This data is precisely what companies developing AI systems need to create simulated models of physical environments, allowing predictions about future states. You can’t teach AI about physics through purely fictitious scenarios; you need the real-world data that HEN is collecting with every deployment.
Sethi is aware of the significant value of this data but remains tight-lipped about specifics. Companies focused on robotics and predictive physics engines would likely pay a premium for such pertinent information.
Investors recognize this potential as well. Last month, HEN secured a $20 million Series A funding round alongside $2 million in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank, led by O’Neil Strategic Capital with participation from NSFO, Tanas Capital, and z21 Ventures. This financing brings the company’s total funding to more than $30 million.
Looking ahead, Sethi is already planning another fundraising round for the second quarter of the year.
