Eye2Drive aims to innovate in the vision sensor sector and announces that it has closed a EUR 1.5 million funding round with the aim of expanding its technology solutions and expanding into new markets. The new funding will accelerate the development of a new advanced sensor, which is already being tested, and strengthen its position in the industrial and automotive markets. Inspired by the human eye, in fact, the software solutions developed by Eye2Drive, which are covered by several patents, make it possible to mimic visual behaviour, in particular sensitivity and the ability to adapt to different lighting conditions.
The round is led by RoboIT, the National Technology Transfer Centre for Robotics and Industrial Automation, launched by CDP Venture Capital together with Pariter Partners. Together, Motor Valley Accelerator, Pariter Robotics, the holding company dedicated to supporting start-ups in the field of robotics, and the regional co-investment fund Toscana Next are participating in the operation, set up and managed by CDP Venture Capital and underwritten by the main foundations of banking origin in the Tuscany Region: Fondazione CR Firenze, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca, Fondazione Caript, Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena, to maximise investments in innovation for the Tuscan territory.
The funds will be used mainly for three key areas: strengthening the team with new specialists, advancing research and development to improve the vision sensor, and expanding commercial operations with the aim of finding a strategic partner in the automotive sector and consolidating its presence in the industry.
Eye2Drive was born as the evolution of a research project initiated by Monica Vatteroni, an electronics engineer with a PhD in Physics and 20 years’ experience in the VLSI design of CMOS image sensors developed by a group of researchers at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa with the initial objective of creating new sensors for endoscopy. However, the need to address problems related to light variability led the company to focus on broader markets such as the automotive and industrial sectors.
Currently, Eye2Drive is engaged in major collaborations and aims to develop a pre-production of a new sensor within the next 18 months and to find strategic partners in the field of autonomous driving and industrial logistics, where their technology can make a difference.
Eye2Drive’s mission is to innovate the semiconductor field with solutions that solve image quality problems, with applications also in the increasingly strategic field of autonomous navigation, exploiting their sensor’s ability to dynamically adapt to changing light conditions, from automotive to logistics.
“Eye2Drive’s challenge is to operate in a key area such as semiconductors, whose applications are destined to transform the technological landscape of the near future, while remaining in Italy to help create an advanced entrepreneurial culture also in this sector which, thanks to legislative and governmental initiatives at both national and European level linked to the Chip Act, is taking significant steps. With this in mind, we are also proud to be able to count on a strong female presence from STEM backgrounds, hoping that our team will inspire even more young women to actively participate in innovation and progress,’ commented Monica Vatteroni, CEO and co-founder of Eye2Drive (pictured), in a note.
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