Brussels-based VoxelSensors, a company that blends the physical and digital worlds through revolutionary 3D perception solutions, announced on Thursday that it has secured €5M in a seed round of funding.
The round was led by Belgium-based venture capital firms Capricorn Partners and Qbic, with participation from the investment firm finance&invest.brussels, existing investors, and the team.
Marc Lambrechts from Capricorn Partners and Steven Leuridan from Qbic will join VoxelSensors’ Board of Directors.
Leuridan says, “As an inter-university fund, Qbic is delighted to support VoxelSensors in this phase of its journey. It’s a pleasure to see the team that led one of VUB’s most prominent spinoffs to a successful exit, start another initiative in this space. They will leverage again the expertise VUB has in this domain, through an extensive research collaboration.”
“We truly believe VoxelSensors is a shining example of a European fabless semiconductor company that holds potential to lead its market.”
What does VoxelSensors offer?
VoxelSensors claims to be a pioneer in 3D perception, developing “cutting-edge” sensors and solutions for the integration of the physical and digital worlds.
The company’s proprietary and patented Switching Pixels Active Event Sensor (SPAES) technology is a new category of ultra-low power and ultra-low latency 3D perception sensors for Extended Reality (XR) to blend the physical and digital worlds.
According to VoxelSensors, SPAES is a game-changing invention that enables complete immersive experiences in consumer electronics as well as enterprise AR/VR/MR wearables.
Co-founder Johannes Peeters says, “Our goal at VoxelSensors is to seamlessly integrate the physical and digital worlds to a point where they become indistinguishable.”
“Extended Reality has rapidly gained traction in recent years, with diverse applications across sectors such as gaming, entertainment, education, healthcare, manufacturing, and more. With our Switching Pixels Active Event Sensor technology, we are poised to deliver unparalleled opportunities for groundbreaking user experiences.”
VoxelSensors’ technology is the first in the world to achieve less than 10 milliwatts power consumption, less than 5 milliseconds latency, resistance to outdoor lighting at distances over 5 metres, and immunity to crosstalk interferences.
Co-founder Ward van der Tempel adds, “With Switching Pixels Active Event Sensing (SPAES), we challenge the status quo in 3D perception. This groundbreaking technology unlocks new possibilities in Extended Reality by addressing previously unmet needs such as precise segmentation, spatial mapping, anchoring and natural interaction.”
“Moreover, this breakthrough innovation extends beyond Extended Reality, and has exciting potential in various industries, including robotics, automotive, drones, and medical applications.”
Capital utilisation
VoxelSensors says it will use the funds to further develop its roadmap, appoint key employees, and strengthen business engagements with customers in the US and Asia. Moreover, the company also intends to raise funds to back its ambitious growth plans.
“We are excited by the opportunity to contribute to the growth of our growing industry and honoured by the trust of these investors to help us expand the company and accelerate market penetration,” says Johannes Peeters.
The company also mentions in a statement that it will showcase the “breakthrough” technology at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) US 2023 from May 31 to June 2, 2023.
Brief about the investors
Capricorn Partners is a European manager of VC and equity funds. It backs “innovative” European companies with technology as a competitive advantage.
The firm manages venture capital funds, including Capricorn Sustainable Chemistry Fund, Capricorn Digital Growth Fund, Capricorn ICT Arkiv, Capricorn Health‐tech Fund, Capricorn Cleantech Fund and Capricorn Fusion China Fund.
Additionally, Capricorn Partners is also the management company of Quest for Growth, quoted on Euronext Brussels, and the investment manager of Quest Cleantech Fund and Quest+, sub‐funds of Quest Management SICAV, registered in Luxembourg.
Qbic is a seed and early-stage VC fund that supports emerging firms that capitalise on research from Qbic’s knowledge partners. Typically, the fund participates in a company’s initial external investment round and continues to assist and invest in these firms throughout their growth. Qbic has roughly €150M in AUM spread over three investment vehicles.
