Quix Labs, a nicotine-reduction company headquartered in West Goshen, has secured its first outside investment from a Chester County angel group.

Founder and CEO Zachary Starr, 23, announced the deal with i2n Angels at the company's third annual summit Friday, Aug. 28, at Tanglewood on the West Chester University campus, the Daily Local News reported. About 50 investors, advisors and supporters attended.

The deal amount was not disclosed.

The investment also marks a first for i2n Angels, which launched in 2025 as an initiative of the Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC). The group provides early-stage funding between $50,000 and $500,000 to startups in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Matt Cabrey, managing director of i2n, said the group was excited to make its inaugural investment in Quix Labs, according to the Daily Local.

Starr started the company at 16 while attending West Chester Rustin High School. He told the Daily Local he got the idea watching classmates struggle with vaping addiction and hide devices in their sleeves.

"Chester County is in my blood," Starr said. "Every time that choice has come up, I have chosen home."

The company's lead product, Quixotic, is a reusable, refillable inhalable device that offers four nicotine strengths, letting users taper down to zero. It sells for about $12 to $13 per device, with weekly refills running $10 to $11.

Quixotic is already distributed in about 70 community pharmacies in England. Starr said he targeted the United Kingdom first to avoid the heavy upfront costs of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The products are notified with the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, according to the Quix Labs UK website.

Starr, a 2024 West Chester University graduate, has kept the company's headquarters in West Goshen even as it expanded overseas. Quix Labs employs nine people, split between the U.S. and London.

In summer 2026, Starr served as a student Entrepreneur-in-Residence at West Chester University's Dr. Edwin Cottrell Entrepreneurial Leadership Center.

Starr told the Daily Local he plans to submit Quixotic for FDA review by 2028, with hopes of entering the U.S. market that year or by early 2029.