eyeo, a company developing nanophotonic color-splitting technology for image sensors, has raised €40 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to €55 million. The round was led by Innovation Industries, with participation from existing investors imec.xpand, Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, QBIC fund, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Brabant Development Agency (BOM).
The funding will support eyeo's efforts to bring its technology to market, which the company says can overcome the 70% light loss inherent in conventional color filter arrays used in CMOS image sensors. Instead of filtering photons, eyeo's nanophotonic structures guide light directly to individual pixels, capturing all incoming light and improving sensitivity by a factor of three. This enables sub-0.5-micron pixels for ultra-compact, high-performance imaging in smartphones, extended reality (XR) devices, smart cities, and other applications across the $30 billion imaging market.
"eyeo's technology represents a fundamental shift in how image sensors capture color," said Mike Sottak, a representative for eyeo. "By replacing absorptive filters with color-splitting optics, we can triple the light captured without increasing sensor size." The approach is compatible with any CMOS sensor platform, according to the company.
The Series A round was led by Innovation Industries, a deep tech venture capital firm. "eyeo has the potential to redefine imaging across multiple industries," said a spokesperson for Innovation Industries. "Their seven years of proven nanophotonic science is now ready for production." Existing investors imec.xpand, Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, QBIC fund, HTGF, and BOM also participated.
eyeo is headquartered at High Tech Campus Eindhoven in the Netherlands, with a sensor design center in Antwerp, Belgium. The company's technology has been in development for seven years and targets the growing demand for higher-quality imaging in smaller form factors. With this funding, eyeo aims to accelerate production and commercialization of its color-splitting sensors, addressing a key limitation that has persisted in digital imaging for decades.
