A startup from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), known as Perceptra, has secured €1.2 million in funding from PhotonDelta, Europe’s prominent photonics accelerator. This significant investment will support the development of Perceptra’s innovative chip-scale chemical monitoring technology, aimed at revolutionizing the field of chemical analysis.
Transforming Chemical Monitoring with Photonic Technology
Raman spectroscopy, a technique capable of identifying chemicals with atomic precision, has historically required large, stationary equipment that is impractical for continuous monitoring in biomanufacturing environments. Perceptra seeks to change this by integrating decades-old chemical analysis technology onto silicon. Their photonic chips replace cumbersome spectrometers with on-chip tunable lasers and detectors, supported by artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret the signals effectively.
Amir Atabaki, CEO and co-founder of Perceptra, has a background in photonics from MIT, where he spent years researching light on silicon. He recognized a critical gap in the market where advanced chemical sensing technologies were not widely accessible despite their importance in trillion-dollar industries. “Why not shrink it like we shrank computers?” he posed, highlighting the potential to make this technology as user-friendly as a digital thermometer.
Perceptra’s technology leverages photonic integrated circuits (PICs) to replace traditional benchtop optics. This innovation drastically reduces costs, allowing for the development of detectors that are ten times cheaper than existing options. By integrating all components onto silicon, Perceptra differentiates itself from competitors such as Wasatch Photonics, Metrohm, and B&W Tek.
Strategic Funding and Future Plans
The funding from PhotonDelta, structured as a loan, will enable Perceptra to create its first fully photonic Raman sensor while facilitating the relocation of its research and development operations from San Francisco to the Netherlands. This move aims to take advantage of PhotonDelta’s ecosystem, which comprises local photonics fabrication facilities, a skilled workforce, and a robust supply chain.
The investment will also support early pilot projects in biomanufacturing, allowing Perceptra to demonstrate its technology in real-world applications. As the demand for efficient and portable chemical monitoring solutions grows, Perceptra is poised to capitalize on this opportunity, potentially reshaping the landscape of chemical analysis in various industries.
With this strategic funding, Perceptra is set to become a key player in the advancement of photonic technology, making high-precision chemical analysis more accessible and practical than ever before.
