Eindhoven-based eyeo, a spin-off born from research at imec at Holst Centre, has closed a €40 million Series A round, bringing its total funding to €55 million. The round is led by Innovation Industries, with participation from imec.xpand, Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, QBIC, HTGF and BOM.

Every image sensor ever made shares a fundamental flaw: the color filters used to separate light work by blocking it — discarding 70% of incoming light before it ever reaches the pixel. It's a constraint that has quietly limited imaging quality across every device that sees the world, from smartphones to autonomous vehicles, eyeo was founded to fix it.

Eyeo developed NCOS® (Nanophotonic Color Splitting), a platform technology that replaces traditional color filters with structures that split light rather than block it, routing every photon directly to where it belongs. The result: triple the light sensitivity, higher resolution, and image quality that conventional sensor architectures simply cannot reach. Protected by 26 patents and validated at a commercial foundry, the technology is compatible with existing CMOS platforms, meaning it can slot into the global imaging supply chain without requiring manufacturers to rebuild from scratch.

This Series A funding will power eyeo's next phase: scaling its IC design team at its new Antwerp sensor design center, developing next-generation 3D-stacked CMOS sensors, and deepening commercial partnerships with OEM customers across smart city, industrial, XR and mobile markets.

Eyeo is a clear example of what open-innovation research is built for: turning deep scientific insight into ventures that shape entire industries.