Congratulations to the 2022 SPIE Startup Challenge Finalists

These teams have been selected go on to the live pitch event at Photonics West. Finalists are organized by development stage:

Startup Challenge competition pitches
Series A/B Fund-raising pitches

One team representative from each team will pitch their light-based business. Presenters in the Startup Challenge are competing for a $10,000 first prize.

Startup Challenge competition pitches

Ascend Manufacturing - Ascend invented a novel 3D printing technology capable of providing 100,000’s of components overnight with materials 10x cheaper than our competitors.

LightCare - LightCare is a smart, effective and safe platform for guiding the training with muscle physiology by using advanced medical optics technology.

Luminess - Luminess Detectors, a versatile platform for safer, more sensitive and more reliable X-ray medical imaging

Modendo Inc. - Modendo develops ultrathin endomicroscopes that provide high-resolution optical imaging and photo-stimulation for currently inaccessible brain regions

Nicslab - XDAC is multichannel power driver that controls the light in PIC's. It's 20x smaller, 3x cheaper, reducing heat & helping data transfer 100x faster.

ORCA Computing - ORCA is the Nvidia of tomorrow. We use room temperature, photonic quantum computing systems to solve complex future machine learning workloads.

Phaseform - Phaseform is an innovative optoelectronics developer & hardware manufacturer with a completely new approach to adaptive optics.

Quantopticon - Quantopticon builds simulation software for quantum photonic hardware manufacturers who want to rapidly build optimised quantum photonic devices.

Specto Photonics - Specto develops next-generation miniaturized spectrometers to measure fundamental mechanical properties for life sciences and sensing applications

VitreaLab - VitreaLab’s laser-lit chip is disrupting the 2D and 3D display market

Series A/B Fund-raising pitches

Cognifiber - Provides proprietary ultra-high-speed, low-power photonic auto-encoder systems for the Industrial IoT, Cybersecurity and Fintech markets.

Comptek Solutions Oy - We deliver the most efficient passivation technology for III-V semiconductor devices - Kontrox™.

Fastree3D - A fast 3D sensor on a CMOS chip, enables 1ms detection by providing distance, 2D image and software defined control of up to 40K SPAD pixels at 60m.

Raydiant Oximetry - Raydiant Oximetry has developed a non-invasive fetal oximetry to more accurately detect fetal distress during childbirth.

Stratio - BeyonSense is the world's first, germanium (Ge)-based, shortwave infrared (SWIR) camera designed to work right on your smartphone.

UbiQD - UbiGro is a layer of light that helps plants get more from the sun. It uses fluorescence to create the optimal greenhouse spectrum for crops.