Eyeo Raises €40 Million to Fix the Flaw that has Kept Every Camera 70% Blind

Eyeo, building the future of imaging, led by Jeroen Hoet, Alden Carracillo, Gerd Van den Branden, and Jan Genoe, has raised €40 million in Series A funding, bringing eyeo’s 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).

eyeo has developed a nanophotonic color-splitting technology that enhances light sensitivity, image quality, color accuracy, and sensor resolution across imaging applications.

The new funding will help expand sensor design capabilities, strengthen OEM partnerships, and accelerate commercial deployment.

A New Era for Imaging

Every year, billions of image sensors used in smartphones, autonomous vehicles, XR devices, industrial systems, and smart city infrastructure rely on traditional color filters that discard most incoming light.

eyeo’s Nanophotonic Color Splitting (NCOS®) technology takes a different approach by separating light into colors and directing each photon to the correct pixel instead of blocking it. Backed by 26 patents, the platform improves light sensitivity, enhances image quality and resolution, and increases efficiency.

Compatible with existing CMOS sensor platforms, the technology enables ultra-compact, high-performance imaging while overcoming long-standing trade-offs between sensor size and image quality.

From Breakthrough Science to Production-Ready Sensors

The Series A funding marks a major step in eyeo’s commercialization efforts, building on technology developed at imec over the past seven years, alongside customer engagements and successful foundry integration.

The investment will support expansion of the company’s IC and system architecture team in Antwerp, development of next-generation 3D-stacked CMOS image sensors, and growth of commercial partnerships with OEM customers across smart city, industrial, XR, and mobile markets.

“Every modern device that captures visual data, from smartphones to autonomous systems, is limited by the same decades-old imaging constraint,” said Jeroen Hoet. “eyeo’s technology removes that limitation at the source. With commercially validated and patented technology already attracting tier-one customer interest, the €40 million funding provides the resources needed to scale.”

“eyeo is delivering the kind of foundational breakthrough capable of reshaping the semiconductor industry,” said Nard Sinteni. The company’s technology was described as a pioneering deep-tech innovation with the potential to drive broad progress across the wider technology ecosystem.