Eyeo, a new imec spin-off, raises €15 million seed round to give cameras perfect eyesight
Breakthrough color-splitting photonics innovation triples light sensitivity and breaks sensor resolution limits for a new era in ultra-compact, high-performance imaging
Eindhoven (Netherlands) and Leuven (Belgium), May 7, 2025 – eyeo, a new imec spin-off, today announced it has raised €15 million in seed funding, co-led by imec.xpand, Invest-NL, joined by QBIC fund, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Brabant Development Agency (BOM). Eyeo revolutionizes the imaging market for consumer, industrial, XR and security applications by drastically increasing the light sensitivity of image sensors. This breakthrough unlocks picture quality, color accuracy, resolution, and cost efficiency, which was never before possible in smartphones and beyond.
The €15 million raised will drive evaluation kit development, prepare for scale manufacturing of a first sensor product, and expand commercial partnerships to bring this breakthrough imaging technology to market.
The Problem: Decades-old color filter technology throws away 70% of light, crippling sensor performance
For decades, image sensors have relied on the application of red, green, and blue color filters on pixels to make your everyday color picture or video. Color filters, however, block a large portion of the incoming light, and thereby limit the sensitivity of the camera. Furthermore, they limit the scaling of the pixel size below ~0.5 micron. These longstanding issues have stalled advancements in camera technology, constraining both image quality and sensor efficiency. In smartphone cameras, manufacturers have compensated for this limitation by increasing the sensor -and thus camera- size, to capture more light. While this improves low-light performance, it also leads to larger, bulkier cameras. Compact, high-sensitivity image sensors are essential for slimmer smartphones and emerging applications such as robotics and AR/VR devices, where size, power efficiency, and image quality are crucial.
The Breakthrough: Color-splitting via vertical waveguides
Eyeo introduces a novel image sensor architecture that eliminates the need for traditional color filters, making it possible to maximize sensitivity without increasing sensor size. Leveraging breakthrough vertical waveguide-based technology that splits light into colors, eyeo develops sensors that efficiently capture and utilize all incoming light, tripling sensitivity compared to existing technologies. This is particularly valuable in low-light environments, where current sensors struggle to gather enough light for clear, reliable imaging. Additionally, unlike traditional filters that block certain colors (information that is then interpolated through software processing), eyeo’s waveguide technology allows pixels to receive complete color data. This approach instantly doubles resolution, delivering sharper, more detailed images for applications that demand precision, such as computational photography, machine vision, and spatial computing.
Jeroen Hoet, CEO of eyeo: “Eyeo is fundamentally redefining image sensing by eliminating decades-old limitations. Capturing all incoming light and drastically improving resolution is just the start—this technology paves the way for entirely new applications in imaging, from ultra-compact sensors to enhanced low-light performance, ultra-high resolution, and maximum image quality. We’re not just improving existing systems; we’re creating a new standard for the future of imaging.”
Market Readiness and Roadmap
Eyeo has already established partnerships with leading image sensor manufacturers and foundries to ensure the successful commercialization of its technology. The €15 million seed funding will be used to improve its current camera sensor designs further, optimizing the waveguide technology for production scalability and accelerating the development of prototypes for evaluation. By working closely with industry leaders, eyeo aims to bring its advanced camera sensors to a wide range of applications, from smartphones and VR glasses to any compact device that uses color cameras. The first evaluation kits are expected to be available for selected customers within the next two years. Eyeo is headquartered in Eindhoven (NL), with an R&D office in Leuven (BE).
About eyeo
Eyeo is redefining imaging with the world’s most advanced nanophotonic color-splitting technology. For the first time, image sensors can capture all of incoming light, overcoming the current 30% limit imposed by decades-old color filter technology. Instead of filtering photons, Eyeo’s breakthrough technology guides them directly to individual pixels, unlocking full light sensitivity and native color fidelity, even in the most challenging conditions. Compatible with any CMOS sensor platform, Eyeo’s single-photon guiding capability also breaks resolution barriers, enabling sub-0.5-micron pixels for ultra-compact, high-performance imaging in XR, industrial, security, and mobile applications where image quality is critical.
Learn more at www.eyeo-imaging.com
This operation benefits from the support from the European Union under the InvestEU Fund
Contact: press@eyeo-imaging.com
About imec
Imec is a world-leading research and innovation center in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Imec leverages its state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure and its team of more than 6.000 employees and top researchers, for R&D in advanced semiconductor and system scaling, silicon photonics, artificial intelligence, beyond 5G communications and sensing technologies, and in application domains such compute technologies & systems, health, automotive, energy, infotainment, industry, agrifood & security. Imec unites world-industry leaders across the semiconductor value chain, Flanders-based and international tech, pharma, medical and ICT companies, start-ups, and academia and knowledge centers. Imec is headquartered in Leuven (Belgium), and has research sites across Belgium, in the Netherlands, the UK and the USA, and representation in 3 continents. In 2024, imec's revenue (P&L) totaled 1,034 billion euro.
Further information on imec can be found at www.imec-int.com.
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