Agate Sensors, a spin-out from Aalto University’s Photonics Group, has raised €5.6M to commercialise its miniature spectroscopy sensors.
The round includes €4M in seed funding led by Voima Ventures and LIFTT, plus €1.6M in grants from Business Finland.
Turning lab spectrometers into chip-sized sensors
Agate Sensors has developed a sensor smaller than a grain of sand that can capture hundreds of spectral bands—far beyond human vision.
- The chip enables real-time material analysis in devices like smartphones, wearables, medical tools, industrial equipment, and defense systems.
- Unlike traditional spectrometers confined to labs, Agate’s sensors are software-defined, allowing one chip to switch functions—from health diagnostics to object classification—without hardware changes.
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Market rollout and early applications
Initial chip manufacturing is planned by year-end, with proof-of-concept demos in 2026 and first commercial products by late 2027.
- Defense is an early market: the sensors can distinguish camouflage from natural foliage or identify vehicles by paint signatures.
- Broader use cases include multi-biomarker health monitoring, counterfeit detection in supply chains, environmental hazard tracking, and smart agriculture.
Building European tech sovereignty
CEO Tommi Leino said:
“We’ve taken a spectrometer once confined to specialised labs and made it small and affordable enough to live inside everyday devices.”
Voima Ventures’ Niko Elers added:
“Agate Sensors software-defined platform is a leap forward in hyperspectral sensing. It could reshape industries dependent on precise optical measurement.”
With its AI-powered analysis, Agate Sensors aims to provide a new “layer of light-based intelligence” to machines, strengthening Europe’s competitiveness in photonics, AI, and defense technologies.
