eyeo, a Dutch nanophotonic imaging company, announced it has raised €40 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to €55 million. The round is 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 company aims to commercialize its color-splitting sensor technology, which it claims captures three times more light than conventional sensors by eliminating the 70% light loss inherent in traditional color filter arrays.
Conventional image sensors use color filters that block roughly two-thirds of incoming light, wasting it as heat. eyeo’s nanophotonic technology guides photons directly to individual pixels without filtering, preserving full light sensitivity and delivering native color fidelity in any lighting condition. The technology is compatible with standard CMOS sensor platforms and enables sub-0.5-micron pixels, allowing for ultra-compact, high-performance imaging modules. This breakthrough addresses a fundamental flaw that has limited camera performance for decades, particularly in low-light environments.
The €40 million investment will fund the transition from seven years of R&D to production-ready sensors. eyeo’s technology targets a $30 billion imaging market spanning smartphones, extended reality (XR) devices, smart city infrastructure, and other applications where image quality is critical. According to eyeo, the funding will accelerate the integration of its color-splitting sensors into commercial products, potentially revolutionizing how cameras are designed in the future.
“For the first time, image sensors can capture all incoming light, overcoming the 70% light loss imposed by decades-old color filter technology,” the company stated in its announcement. The nanophotonic approach not only improves low-light performance but also enhances color accuracy and reduces the need for computational post-processing, which can introduce artifacts.
eyeo is headquartered at High Tech Campus Eindhoven in the Netherlands, with a sensor design center in Antwerp, Belgium. The company’s existing investors include imec.xpand, a venture fund associated with the nanoelectronics research center imec, and other deep-tech funds. The Series A round is led by Innovation Industries, a Dutch venture capital firm focused on deep-tech innovations. More details about the announcement, including images and bios, can be accessed here.
