Key Points
● Strategic Investment: AIR invested $20 million in Greentank preferred shares at a pre-money valuation of approximately $170 million.
● Governance and Supply Rights: AIR secured the right to nominate a Greentank director, access new technologies, receive enhanced commercial terms and obtain long-term supply assurances.
● Further Stake Option: AIR received a warrant allowing it to increase its ownership by another 20% over the next 24 months at a $250 million valuation. On a simple post-money basis, the initial investment implies a stake of about 10.5%, according to a 2Firsts calculation.
● PMTA Connection: Greentank’s Quantum Chip platform powers AIR’s Crown Switch device, while pilot emissions testing forms part of the PMTA dossier AIR is preparing for the U.S. market.
● Industry Signal: The transaction shows how vape brands may move beyond procurement and joint development by using equity, governance rights and supply agreements to secure core technology and regulatory capabilities.
2Firsts
Shenzhen, July 29, 2026
Nasdaq-listed AIR Global PLC, owner of the Al Fakher hookah brand, has invested $20 million in Canadian vaporization technology company Greentank Innovations Corp., adding equity, governance and supply-chain ties to a product partnership established in 2023.
AIR announced the transaction at 8 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on July 29.
The investment turns AIR from a Greentank customer and technology partner into a shareholder. AIR will also gain the right to nominate a director to Greentank’s board, access to new technologies, enhanced commercial terms and long-term supply assurances.
The transaction offers an example of capital moving deeper into the electronic cigarette supply chain as product technology, scientific evidence and regulatory strategy become more closely connected.
AIR Moves From Customer to Shareholder
AIR invested $20 million through the purchase of Greentank preferred shares at a pre-money valuation of approximately $170 million, according to the company’s announcement.
It also secured a warrant allowing it to increase its ownership stake in Greentank by another 20% over the next 24 months at a valuation of $250 million.
AIR did not disclose its precise ownership percentage or the economic and voting rights attached to the preferred shares. On a simple post-money basis, the disclosed investment and valuation imply a stake of about 10.5%, according to a 2Firsts calculation.
AIR and Toronto-based Greentank formed their strategic partnership in 2023. AIR’s Crown Switch rechargeable pod system uses Greentank’s Quantum Chip atomization platform, directly linking the investment to an existing product and technology relationship.
Crown Switch is AIR’s first rechargeable pod-based electronic cigarette and is currently available in Germany. AIR is seeking to expand further into vaping and other modern nicotine categories beyond its core Al Fakher shisha business.
Pilot Study Supports U.S. Regulatory Plans
AIR also released results from a pilot study evaluating aerosol emissions from Crown Switch.
The study was commissioned by AIR and conducted by McKinney Specialty Labs in Richmond, Virginia, which AIR described as an independent analytical laboratory. It tested Velvet Tobacco and Arctic Mint pods containing 5% nicotine at two device power settings under an intensive vaping regime.
AIR said carbon monoxide was not detected across the flavors and power settings tested. Based on comparisons with published data, Crown Switch Arctic Mint produced approximately 94% less formaldehyde and 97% less nickel than a mint-flavored electronic cigarette product with U.S. Food and Drug Administration marketing authorization, the company said.
The comparison relied on data from a 2024 study by Cameron Smith and other researchers examining harmful and potentially harmful constituents in North American electronic nicotine delivery systems. It was not a simultaneous head-to-head laboratory test of the products.
AIR described the findings as preliminary and said further testing could produce materially different results. The pilot study measured selected constituents under specified laboratory conditions and does not establish that Crown Switch is safe.
The research forms part of a dossier AIR is preparing for a U.S. premarket tobacco product application, or PMTA. The company has commissioned further testing and plans to present the pilot findings at the Tobacco Science Research Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September.
The PMTA work strengthens the strategic connection between AIR’s investment and its U.S. expansion plans. Greentank is supplying not only hardware used in Crown Switch, but also an atomization platform that will form part of the product’s scientific and technical submission.
Device Technology Takes a Larger Regulatory Role
The investment comes as device-level controls are taking a larger role in U.S. electronic cigarette authorization strategies.
In May, the FDA issued marketing granted orders for four GLAS products, including its first authorizations for electronic cigarettes that were neither tobacco- nor menthol-flavored.
The authorized pods must be used with devices incorporating identity verification, smartphone connectivity and periodic biometric checks, according to the FDA.
AIR has not linked the GLAS decision to its Greentank investment. The authorization nevertheless showed how device technology can form part of a regulatory submission alongside product science, marketing restrictions and youth-access controls.
Capital Moves Deeper Into the Vape Supply Chain
AIR’s core business remains Al Fakher, one of the best-known brands in the global hookah market. The company completed its business combination with Cantor Equity Partners III and began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker AIIR in May.
In an April interview with 2Firsts, AIR Chief Executive Stuart Brazier outlined the company’s effort to combine its traditional shisha business with proprietary devices, closed-system consumables, intellectual property and scientific evidence. AIR said at the time that it had invested more than $115 million in innovation.
The Greentank transaction is an early example of AIR using its capital resources to deepen a relationship with an external technology provider.
Electronic cigarette brands have traditionally worked with technology suppliers through procurement, licensing, original-design manufacturing and joint-development agreements. AIR’s investment goes further by combining preferred-share ownership with a board nomination right, improved commercial terms, technology access and long-term supply protection.
The structure gives AIR a financial and governance interest in a company developing technology used in Crown Switch, while providing Greentank with capital and a longer-term commitment from an established customer.
As regulatory requirements move further into product design, capital may follow into atomization platforms, age-verification systems, advanced materials and regulatory science.
The AIR-Greentank transaction offers an early indication of how commercial relationships across the electronic cigarette supply chain may develop into deeper and more durable capital partnerships.
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