Rapid technological advancements have brought us some of the coolest, almost-fictional technological marvels in only a few short years: Self-driving cars, lab-grown meat and computers that can do our math homework better than we can. There is at least one technology that has graced the world of science-fiction and that still has yet to grace our everyday lives, however: Holographs.
That last sentence could be made false in short order, though, as PxE Holographic Imaging, a company that develops holographic imaging cameras, has come out of stealth with a $5.4 million Seed Round, which brings the company’s total investment to $6.5 million.
While holographic imaging technology has existed for several years already, many currently-used methods are complex, power-hungry and deliver poor depth performance. PxE aims to solve these issues, and has developed holographic imaging technology that enables the capture of a high-resolution color image, an infrared image, and a depth map at the pixel-level, all in a single snapshot. PxE's passive, white-light holography technique provides highly precise depth data at distances ranging from µm to hundreds of meters. The camera is composed of a regular CMOS image sensor combined with a layer of holographic optics, and the company’s proprietary algorithm decodes the captured holograms in real time.
How did holograms become more accessible?
For years, holography was dependent on the use of lasers, which made the technology impractical for many consumer applications. PxE’s team’s “eureka” moment came when the company’s team realized that it was possible to obtain holograms with white light. Following a long process of research and design iteration, they ultimately developed holographic optics that work with white light, opening up the possibilities for camera-based applications and enabling the production of color, infrared and depth images from white light holograms.
The company’s technology is already being implemented in pilot programs throughout several sectors, such as aerospace, semiconductors and — most excitingly — the wearables and consumer electronics market. The company will use the Seed Round funds to continue development in close alignment with their customers with the goal of obtaining first qualifications for mass-market products in 2025.
"The current round allows us to accelerate our current efforts and partner with more customers to integrate the enhanced capabilities of PxE cameras into their products.”
Yoav Berlatzky
"The current round allows us to accelerate our current efforts and partner with more customers to integrate the enhanced capabilities of PxE cameras into their products,” said PxE CEO Yoav Berlatzky, who founded the company with CTO Yanir Hainick in 2019.
Isaac Sigron, managing director at Seed Round leader Koch Disruptive Technologies, noted his excitement with working together with the duo in order to promote the implementation of holographic in the imaging market which, as he put it, “has not seen meaningful transformation since the invention of the digital camera.”
“PxE’s holographic imaging technology is well positioned to disrupt the imaging market by adding depth and infrared capabilities at the same cost and size as standard imaging sensors, without compromising on image quality,” said Sigron.