Agate Sensors Raises €5.6 Million to Bring Spectral Vision to Everyday Devices

Agate Sensors, a startup developing smart sensors for material analysis, led by Tommi Leino, Dr. Andreas Liapis, Mikael Westerlund, and Dr. Faisal Ahmed, has raised €5.6 million, which includes €4 million in seed funding led by Voima Ventures and LIFTT, plus €1.6 million in grants from Business Finland.

The Finnish startup is commercializing a breakthrough that shrinks spectroscopy from suitcase-sized lab equipment to a single-pixel chip smaller than a grain of sand. Its technology enables real-time analysis of material spectral signatures, bringing high-precision sensing to everyday devices such as smartphones, wearables, medical equipment, and defense systems.

Agate’s sensors capture hundreds of spectral bands, far beyond human-visible colors, giving machines “superhuman” vision to detect details invisible to conventional cameras. Initial chip manufacturing is expected by year-end, allowing proof-of-concept demonstrations in 2026 and first commercial smart wearable products by late 2027.

Agate’s platform enhances machine vision by capturing rich spectral data and using AI to identify objects and materials in real time, enabling applications from health monitoring in wearables to supply chain verification, environmental hazard detection, and smart agriculture. Early defense use cases include distinguishing real foliage from synthetic camouflage and identifying vehicle types by paint signatures.