Imaging tech startup eyeo raises €40M to try to show the world in a very different light

Netherlands- and Belgium-based imaging technology startup eyeo B.V. said today it has closed on a €40 million ($47.07 million) Series A round of funding in order to try to fulfill its mission to enhance the world’s cameras.

The round, which brings eyeo’s total amount raised to €55 million, was led by Innovation Industries and saw participation from imec.xpand, Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, QBIC fund, High-Tech Gründerfonds and Brabant Development Agency, as well as the European Union’s InvestEU Fund.

Having so many backers pile into its Series A round suggests that eyeo is onto something pretty big. And indeed it is, for it claims to have developed the world’s most advanced nanophotonic “color-splitting” technology, paving the way for camera sensors to capture much more light. The startup says that its tech helps to triple the light sensitivity of regular cameras to deliver unprecedented color accuracy and resolution, resulting in dramatically improved image quality in everything from smartphones to medical imaging devices.

Eyeo is targeting a massive global market for imaging sensors. Last year, more than 7 billion such devices were sold globally, and every single one of them had a “fundamental flaw,” if the company is to be believed. According to eyeo co-founder and Chief Executive Jeroen Hoet, the problem is that these devices utilize color filters that are based on the principle of “light rejection,” discarding up to 70% of the light that every camera sees in order to render realistic colors in their images.

This makes digital cameras extremely inefficient, which is why eyeo’s proprietary nanophotonic color splitting technology has so much potential. Rather than filter the light that hits the sensor, it splits it into different colors before guiding each photon directly to the pixel in the image where it belongs. In this way, eyeo claims to triple light sensitivity and crush the resolution limits of existing cameras to unlock superior picture quality for every imaging device.

“Every modern device that sees the world, from smartphones to autonomous systems, is held back by the same 50-year-old constraint,” Hoet said. “Eyeo removes it at the source. Our technology is proven, patented and validated at a commercial foundry, with tier one customers already engaged.”

Hoet says the company’s technology is compatible with existing complementary metal-oxide semiconductor sensor platforms, and enables camera makers to finally eliminate the decades-long tradeoff between picture quality and sensor size.

The startup says it has come a long way towards commercializing its technology, having demonstrated successful process integrations in prototype products following multiple customer engagements. The money from today’s round will enable eyeo to scale its in-house engineering and manufacturing operations and start shipping its sensors to customers in commercial volumes. It’ll also use some of the funds to accelerate the development of its next-generation color-splitting tech and deliver further picture quality improvements.

Innovation Industries partner Nard Sinteni said eyeo offers a rare example of a company whose innovations are driving real, structural progress in semiconductor technology. “It has implications that extend across the broader technology ecosystem,” he said. “Its technology is truly pioneering in its approach and sets a new benchmark for what’s possible.”

Images: Eyeo