15-in-15: Analog, MEMS and sensor startups to watch in 2015
At this time last year we provided a list of ten startup companies to keep an eye on in 2014 operating in the area of analog, MEMS and sensors. This year there are many interesting companies emerging and so we have decided to increase the total to 15 entries.
The blossoming of the sector may be to do with the general buoyancy of the total global semiconductor market, which looks set to achieve close to a 10 percent year-on-year growth in value in 2014 and to the fact that analog, MEMS and sensor activities seem to be doing slightly better than the overall average. Certainly the proliferation of sensors within mobile handsets seems to be an encouraging development. There is not only scope for a greater number of more sophisticated sensors in such equipment but also for the same or similar sensors to appear broadly across other equipment from automotive to industrial and medical.
The latest batch of newcomers includes companies active in inertial, image and chemical sensors as well as depth perception and gesture recognition. And if the list seems skewed away from the purely analog – it possibly reflects the fact that there appears to be greater value to add at a lower cost of entry in the more application-specific area of sensors.
What follows are 15 private companies we feel are worth tracking in 2014 listed in alphabetical order.
Next: From Cambridge to Berkeley
Cambridge CMOS Sensors Ltd. (Cambridge, England) was set up in 2008 to employ high-temperature tungsten MOSFET heaters embedded in a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) membrane. These form a hot plate for a metal oxide (MOX) based sensing material that reacts with gas molecules. However, the company came to market with the CCS800 product family using standard CMOS technology and not SOI. Despite the use of heaters the technology is claimed to have low power consumption, and fast response time. To this can be added embedded intelligence through CMOS compatibility and small form factor allowing application in health and well-being, ambient air quality monitoring and breath analysis, in smartphones, tablets, wearables and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. www.ccmoss.com
(see Cambridge startup launches gas sensor for mobiles).
Chirp Microsystems Inc. (Berkeley, Calif.) was founded in 2013 to commercialize a low-power ultrasonic gesture recognition technology intended for use in mobile and wearable devices. Developed by a team of researchers from BSAC (Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center) and SwarmLAB at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, Chirp uses MEMS ultrasound transducers to detect and track a user’s gestures in three dimensions. www.chirpmicro.com
(see Sonar drives gesture recognition startup).
Dual Aperture International Co. Ltd. (Seongnam, South Korea) is a joint venure between Dual Aperture Inc. (Palo Alto, Calif.) and the Center for Integrated Smart Sensors (CISS) supported by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). The entity, formed in 2014, is positioned to commercialize dual-apertured RGB-IR sensor technology and algorithms, used for 3D image capture and gesture tracking. Dual Aperture was founded in 2009. www.dual-aperture.com
(see Visible-to-IR venture gets Korean backing).
Dyna Image Corp. (New Taipei City, Taiwan) formed as a spin off from Lite-On Semiconductor in 2013. Develops and sells optical and inertial sensors, hybrid sensors and fusion software. www.dyna-image.com
Gpixel Inc. (Changchun, China) develops high-end CMOS image sensor solutions for industrial, medical and scientific applications. Founded in 2013, the company worked with foundry Tower Semiconductor Ltd. to produce a 150-Mpixel full-frame CMOS image sensor. www.gpixelinc.com
(see Startup launches record resolution 150Mpixel sensor)
Next: From China to California
Hanking Electronics (Liaoning) Co. Ltd. (Shenyang, China), founded in April 2011, is a privately funded MEMS company and a subsidiary of the Hanking Industrial Group. Hanking Electronics focuses on developing, fabrication and marketing MEMS products and related electronics components. It provides customers with design and development, fabrication processing, volume manufacturing, MEMS foundry services, MEMS sensors, MEMS actuators, ASIC, MEMS technology and application consulting. www.hkmems.com
InVisage Technologies Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.) is a fabless semiconductor company developing QuantumFilm, an imaging-sensing technology that it claims has superior performance to silicon. Its first product enables the high-resolution images from handheld devices such as camera phones and PDAs. Founded in 2006, InVisage Technologies is venture funded by RockPort Capital, Charles River Ventures, InterWest Partners, and OnPoint Technologies. www.invisageinc.com
(see China VC lifts sensor startup to record funding)
Isorg SA (Grenoble, France), founded in 2010 as a spin-off from CEA-LITEN, converts plastic and glass surfaces into smart surfaces through the application of printed, organic optoelectronic sensors. The possibility of 3D product integration allows the recognition of many shapes and form factors. The company name is a contraction of Image Sensor ORGanic. www.isorg.fr
(see Isorg raises funds to ramp printed sensor production)
LinX Computational Imaging Inc. (Caesarea, Israel) was founded in June 2011 to commercialize multi-aperture camera technology. The company has developed algorithms and module architectures which are manufactured by partners that manufacture sensors, lenses and modules.
(see Array camera ready for mobile market, says startup)
mCube Inc. (San Jose, Calif.) was founded in September 2009 and has developed a method for integrating MEMS motion sensors above electronic circuitry in a standard CMOS wafer fab using through-silicon via connections. The process includes hermetic sealing of the assembly. The company claims that this provides an advantage in terms of sensor size that will help it with applications in wearable equipment and the Internet of things. www.mcube-inc.com
(see CEO interview: China, not Apple, is way to go, says mCube CEO )
Next: From Denmark to Boston
Merus Audio AS (Herlev, Denmark), founded in 2010, launched an audio amplifier IC in 2013 based on its Eximo architecture. The chip is claimed to be significantly more energy efficient that other Class-D amplifiers and is intended to address home audio and mobile phone applications. www.merus-audio.com
NextInput Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia) founded in 2012 as a spin-off from Georgia Tech to commercialize a force-sensitive touch technology developed by CEO and co-founder Ian Campbell. The company claims it can provide a tactile, force or pressure sensitive method of interfacing with virtually any electronic device. Steve Nasiri, founder of InvenSense, is on the board of directors, and Kurt Petersen serves on a technical advisory board. www.nextinput.com
(see MEMS pioneers invest in force-sensitive touch startup)
Qualtré Inc. (Marlborough, Mass), founded in 2008, is a venture-backed company commercializing solid-state silicon motion sensors for consumer electronics based on a proprietary, multi-axis bulk acoustic wave MEMS gyroscope technology. Qualtré has raised $36 million to date from an investor syndicate comprised of Matrix Partners, Pilot House Ventures, Eastward Capital and a strategic investor. www.qualtre.com
(see Qualtre launches single-axis BAW MEMS gyro).
Senodia Technologies Co. Ltd. (Shanghai, China), founded in August 2008, was one of the first Chinese MEMS gyroscope providers and has expanded its offering to a full suite of inertial MEMS 6-axis and 9-axis solutions and applications for smart phones. www.senodia.com
(see Will China Conquer MEMS?)
Vesper Technologies Inc. (Boston, Mass.), previously called Baker-Calling and Sonify, is a University of Michigan startup founded in July 2009 to develop piezoelectric MEMS microphones and bring superior microphones to handheld devices. The company claims its piezoelectric MEMS sensing is to be able to reduce the noise-floor compared with conventional capacitive sensing technology. www.vespermems.com
(see Startup’s piezoelectric MEMS mics show superior dynamic range).