eyeo raises €15 million in seed funding to develop camera perception

07 May 2025

Novel color-splitting photonics approach triples light sensitivity and breaks sensor resolution limits.

eyeo, a new Netherlands-based sensor developer, spun-off from imec, the Belgium-based research center, has announced it has raised €15 million ($17 million) in seed funding.

The investors were co-led by imec.xpand and Invest-NL, joined by QBIC fund, High-Tech Gründerfonds and Brabant Development Agency. Eyeo is headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with an R&D office in Leuven, Belgium, where imec is also located.

Eyeo states that its sensor technology “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 smart phones and beyond.”

The company added that it is redefining imaging with 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,” said the Eyeo funding statement.

Instead of filtering photons, Eyeo’s technology guides them directly to individual pixels, enabling full light sensitivity and native color fidelity, even in the most challenging conditions. Said to be compatible with any CMOS sensor platform, Eyeo’s single-photon guiding capability also breaks resolution barriers, enabling sub-0.5-µm pixels for compact, high-performance imaging in XR, industrial, security, and mobile applications.

The company said that the €15 million raised so far will drive evaluation kit development, prepare for scale manufacturing of a first sensor product, and expand commercial partnerships to take the novel imaging technology to market.

Compatible with any sensor, eyeo’s single photon guiding technology is said to break resolution limits – “enabling truly effective sub-0.5-micron pixels for ultra-compact, high-resolution imaging in XR, industrial, security, and mobile applications”.

Eliminating limitations

Jeroen Hoet, CEO of eyeo, commented, “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.”

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 also 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.

The company is aiming to bring its camera sensors to a wide range of applications, from smart phones and VR glasses to any compact device using color cameras. The first evaluation kits are expected to be available for selected customers within the next two years.