Giving Doctors X-Ray Vision: Illuminant Surgical Raises $8.4M to Revolutionize Image Guided Care

Illuminant's Skylight™ system replaces complex equipment with intuitive, on-body guidance, unlocking faster, safer, and more accurate interventions

LOS ANGELES, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Illuminant Surgical, a precision access and visualization company transforming how doctors see and navigate the human body, today announced $8.4 million in seed funding to accelerate the launch of its flagship Skylight™ platform. The raise was led by Wing 2 Wing Ventures, alongside investment from the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Aging, Elderberry Ventures, Soma Capital, DRF, and other leading venture partners.

Skylight™ is a projection-based clinical guidance platform that gives doctors a "heads-up display" of a patient's internal anatomy, shown directly on the body. No headsets, goggles, or external monitors required. The system enables millimeter-level accuracy for procedures ranging from spine surgery to cancer biopsies, helping doctors work more precisely and efficiently.

"Surgery is one of the highest-stakes environments in the world, and even small mistakes can have life-changing consequences," said Dr. James Hu, co-founder and co-CEO. "We built Skylight to help doctors avoid those errors, streamline every step, and operate with millimeter-level precision where it matters most."

The need is urgent: 1 in 5 spine surgeries requires a revision, 1 in 10 biopsies misses a cancer diagnosis, and 1 in 2 pain interventions fails to relieve symptoms. These inefficiencies cost the U.S. healthcare system more than $20 billion annually, not to mention the toll on patients' health and quality of life.

How Skylight Works

The platform combines two proprietary technologies:

• SkinMatch™ — A non-invasive patient tracking system using adhesive markers (SkinDots™) and computer vision algorithms to align medical images with the patient's anatomy in real time.

• LightScreen™ — A depth-adaptive projection system that displays key anatomical details directly on the patient's skin, adjusting dynamically for movement and contours.

Now, doctors can perform procedures faster, with greater confidence, and without the cognitive burden of switching between monitors and the operative field.

Expanding the Standard of Care
Originally developed for spine surgery, Skylight is built to adapt across a broad range of procedures where precision and speed are critical, such as cancer biopsy. Its flexible design allows seamless integration into different clinical workflows, removing barriers to adoption and accelerating impact in the operating room.

"Our mission from day one has been to build technology that doctors actually want to use and to deliver it in a way that makes adoption effortless," said Eldrick Millares, co-founder and co-CEO of Illuminant. "With Skylight, we're combining clinical impact with a business model that gets this into operating rooms quickly and sustainably."

The Right Team to Transform Image Guided Care
Illuminant is led by Stanford-trained innovators with decades of combined experience in medtech, computer vision, and high-performance hardware. Co-founder and co-CEO Eldrick Millares has built and scaled advanced sensing systems at startups and at Apple. Co-founder and Co-CEO Dr. James Hu earned his BS in Bioengineering from Stanford and his MD from UC Irvine, giving him first hand insight into both the technical and clinical challenges that precision interventions needed. Together, they've assembled a multidisciplinary team of clinical advisors, medtech veterans, and world-class engineers to deliver a category-defining platform that integrates seamlessly into the operating room.

"Illuminant is tackling one of the most persistent challenges in modern medicine with a solution that is both technically elegant and clinically impactful," said Max Knapp, Managing Director at Wing 2 Wing Ventures. "The team's ability to translate cutting-edge research into a platform that fits seamlessly into clinical practice positions them to redefine the standard of care worldwide."

To learn more about Skylight™ or request a demo, visit www.illuminant.ai.

About Illuminant
Illuminant is a precision access and visualization company redefining how doctors see and treat inside the human body. Its flagship platform, Skylight™, overlays real-time anatomy directly onto the patient, improving outcomes, streamlining workflows, and giving doctors superhuman precision. Backed by leading VCs and federal agencies, Illuminant is building a new standard of care for accurate interventions. To learn more about Illuminant Surgical, visit https://www.illuminant.ai.

SOURCE Illuminant Surgical