Belgian hyperspectral sensing developer Spectricity raises €14 million

Belgian semiconductor company Spectricity has raised €14 million in a Series B round. The company develops spectral sensing solutions in the visible and near-infrared spectral range for mobile devices. With the funding, Spectricity is planning to accelerate the development and large-scale production of sensors. A spin-out of nanoelectronics hub imec, since 2018, Spectricity has raised €20 million.

With applications ranging from agriculture, food analysis, health, and biomedical, hyperspectral sensors allow devices to “see” what is unseen. Monitoring your heartbeat, the amount of oxygen in your blood, whether food is fresh, or even whether a certain cosmetic matches a skin tone, all examples of hyperspectral sensor technology in action.

Now take this type of technology and apply it to existing camera sensors. By merging image and spectral sensing technologies, Spectricity’s offering has the potential for an entirely new category of applications.

“We expand the traditional paradigm of color imaging to spectral sensing. Our technology makes it possible to trade spectral for spatial resolution: a traditional RGB sensor uses 3 color filters in a Bayer pattern. A spectral sensor could use more filters (e.g. 9 or 16) in a mosaic pattern. A spectrometer may use 128 channels across a sensor.”

“This is a major milestone for Spectricity and the deployment of our chip size hyperspectral sensor and imager solutions for mass-market mobile devices and applications,” comments CEO Vincent Mouret. “This new round of financing will enable us to significantly accelerate our high-volume manufacturing, hire key talent and continue to expand our partnerships.”

The Mechelen, Belgium company’s Series B round saw participation from Atlantic Bridge, Capricorn Fusion China Fund, Shanghai Semiconductor Equipment and Material Fund (SSMEF). Existing investors imec.xpand and XTRION also participated.

imec.xpand's Peter Vanbekbergen comments, “The formation of Spectricity is a prime example of remarkable semiconductor innovation born in Europe, based on unique technology developed at imec. The best companies start with a great technology base, with founders coming together to identify a big problem and line up an expert investment team to help them succeed. As part of that team, we’re focused on providing Spectricity with unique value and networking.”