Accelerating the launch of its single sensor solution for 3D computer vision
MONTREAL, July 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - AIRY3D Inc., a Montreal-based 3D computer vision start-up, today announced that it has raised US$10 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Intel Capital, including all Seed round investors CRCM Ventures, Nautilus Venture Partners, R7 Partners, Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC), and WI Harper Group along with several angel investors that are affiliates of TandemLaunch, the incubator that spun out AIRY3D. This financing will allow AIRY3D to advance its licensing roadmap for the first commercial adoptions of its DepthIQTM 3D sensor platform with top-tier mobile OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) in 2019.
A simple, drop-in solution, DepthIQTM is an enabler for many burgeoning markets that span mobile, automotive, AR/VR, drones, robotics, smart homes and beyond.
"The simplicity and cost-efficiency of AIRY3D's 3D sensor technology, which does not require multiple components, helps position AIRY3D's technology as a potential enabler for many target markets", said Dave Flanagan, vice president and group managing director at Intel Capital.
Beyond the mobile market: 3D sensors are enabling new applications such as life-saving technologies in the automotive industry.
"AIRY3D's DepthIQTM platform is a cost-effective technology that can accelerate the adoption of several new applications such as facial, gesture and object recognition, portrait modes, professional 'Bokeh' effects, and image segmentation in mobile markets and beyond," said Dr. Ingo Ramesohl, Managing Director at Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH. "We see tremendous opportunities in one of the largest business areas of Bosch - the automotive industry. The adoption of 3D cameras inside the cabin and outside with ADAS can drive significant improvements in safety and facilitate the industry's shift towards autonomous vehicles."
"After concluding our Seed round in March 2017, we fabricated DepthIQTM 3D sensors on state-of-the-art CMOS wafers in collaboration with a leading sensor OEM. AIRY3D has since demonstrated 3D camera prototypes and numerous use cases. With the support of Intel, Bosch and our other investors, we now are formalizing partnerships with camera sensor OEMs and design-in collaborations with industry leading end customers in our strategic markets," said Dan Button, CEO of AIRY3D.
AIRY3D's DepthIQTM platform can convert any single 2D imaging sensor into one that generates a 2D image and 3D depth data. It combines simple optical physics (our broadly patented, in situ Transmissive Diffraction Mask technology) with proprietary algorithms to deliver versatile 3D sensing solutions while preserving 2D performance. The simplicity of this solution, including its inherently compressed data set, translates to dramatic savings in hardware, size and computational load. In turn, this enables faster, cheaper, smaller 3D solutions that facilitate numerous human and machine vision applications, and machine learning.
Click here to view how AIRY3D's DepthIQTM technology can render 3D point cloud images from a single image taken from a single camera (shown as a 2D image).
ABOUT INTEL CAPITAL
Intel Capital invests in innovative startups targeting artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, workload accelerators, 5G connectivity, virtual reality and a wide range of other disruptive technologies. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested US $12.3 billion in 1,530 companies worldwide, and more than 660 portfolio companies have gone public or been acquired. Intel Capital curates thousands of business development introductions each year between its portfolio companies and the Global 2000. For more information on what makes Intel Capital one of the world's most powerful venture capital firms, visit www.intelcapital.com or follow @Intelcapital.
ABOUT ROBERT BOSCH VENTURE CAPITAL GMBH (RBVC)
RBVC is the corporate venture capital company of the Bosch Group, a leading global supplier of technology and services. RBVC invests worldwide in innovative start-up companies at all stages of their development. Its investment activities focus on technology companies working in areas of business of current and future relevance for Bosch, above all, automation and electrification, energy efficiency, enabling technologies, and healthcare systems. RBVC also invests in services and business models that are relevant to the above-mentioned areas of business. www.rbvc.com
ABOUT AIRY3D
Founded in 2015 and spun out of TandemLaunch, a Montreal-based incubator, AIRY3D delivers a 3D computer vision solution that is unrivaled in its simplicity. Our DepthIQÔ platform can convert any camera sensor into a single 3D sensor that generates both 2D images and depth maps that are inherently correlated. This drop-in solution enables dramatic savings for 3D sensing across the board - hardware and manufacturing, size, computational load and speed, machine learning, bandwidth and beyond. AIRY3D is now working with industry leaders to unleash next generation mobile applications; mixed reality devices for AR/VR; monitoring systems for autos, drones and security; as well as machine vision solutions for object recognition and manipulation. www.airy3d.com
Twitter: @AIRY3D
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airy-3d
AngelList: https://angel.co/airy-3d
SOURCE AIRY3D
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