Eyeo, a new spin-off from imec, has secured €15 million in seed funding to revolutionize imaging technology with its breakthrough color-splitting photonics innovation. Addressing the long-standing limitation of traditional color filters that block 70% of incoming light and restrict pixel scaling, Eyeo's novel vertical waveguide-based sensor architecture eliminates filters. This triples light sensitivity, doubles effective resolution by providing complete color data per pixel, and enables ultra-compact, high-performance imaging for applications ranging from smartphones and XR to industrial and security systems. The funding will drive evaluation kit development, manufacturing preparation, and commercial partnerships, with first kits expected within two years.
Summarizing Eyeo's Imaging Revolution
Introduction of Eyeo & Funding: Eyeo, a new spin-off from imec, announced a €15 million seed funding round co-led by imec.xpand and Invest-NL, with additional investment from QBIC fund, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), and Brabant Development Agency (BOM).
Mission: Eyeo aims to revolutionize the imaging market by drastically increasing the light sensitivity of image sensors, enhancing picture quality, color accuracy, resolution, and cost efficiency across consumer, industrial, XR, and security applications.
The Problem with Current Technology:
For decades, image sensors have relied on red, green, and blue color filters, which block approximately 70% of incoming light, severely limiting camera sensitivity and efficiency.
These filters also restrict pixel size scaling to below ~0.5 micron.
Smartphone manufacturers compensate by increasing sensor size, leading to bulkier cameras, which is not ideal for compact devices like AR/VR or robotics.
The Breakthrough - Vertical Waveguide Technology:
Eyeo introduces a novel image sensor architecture that eliminates the need for traditional color filters.
It uses vertical waveguide-based technology to split light into colors before it reaches the pixel.
This allows pixels to efficiently capture and utilize all incoming light, rather than filtering it away.
Key Benefits & Takeaways:
Tripled Light Sensitivity: Achieves significantly higher sensitivity, especially crucial for low-light environments, without increasing sensor size.
Doubled Resolution: Pixels receive complete color data, unlike traditional methods that interpolate missing color information, leading to sharper and more detailed images.
Enables Ultra-Compact Design: Breaks resolution barriers by enabling sub-0.5-micron pixels, paving the way for slimmer smartphones and compact devices for emerging applications.
Compatibility: The technology is compatible with any CMOS sensor platform.
New Applications: Opens doors for entirely new applications in imaging, including enhanced low-light performance, ultra-high resolution, and maximum image quality for computational photography, machine vision, and spatial computing.
Market Readiness & Roadmap:
Eyeo has established partnerships with leading image sensor manufacturers and foundries.
The €15 million funding will be used for evaluation kit development, preparing for scaled manufacturing, and expanding commercial partnerships.
First evaluation kits are expected to be available for selected customers within the next two years.
Headquarters are in Eindhoven (NL) with an R&D office in Leuven (BE).