Tigeraire Receives Funding from General Catalyst

Tigeraire, Inc. is the first company in Louisiana to attract seed funding from a global top 50 venture capital firm – ever. This tech startup at the LSU Innovation Park has announced they have signed General Catalyst as their lead investor. General Catalyst is a Silicon Valley venture capital firm known for their investments in popular  businesses including Venmo, Stripe, Airbnb, and TikTok. 

Tigeraire got their start when Jack Karavich moved to Louisiana and began helping the LSU football team. He discovered the limitations of a football helmet in the blistering heat of summer – overheating and breathing difficulties. So he developed a prototype that enhanced airflow in the helmet. The design for this first model – the Cyclone – used dual blowers designed to fit between the padding inside a football helmet, providing cooler air and more comfort to the player. Their portfolio of products is set to grow over the next year into other sports as well as industrial hard hats and ballistic helmets.

One of the main goals of Tigeraire’s helmet technologies is to help battle extreme heat and humidity—a hallmark of south Louisiana. By improving airflow, “cooler heads can prevail,” the company argues, including through increased sweat evaporation and decreased visor fog.

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