Prophesee, the startup behind breakthrough neuromorphic vision systems, recently raised €50 million, making it Europe’s most well-funded fabless semiconductor firm. The Paris-based company is exploiting this technology to greatly improve computer vision and is gaining industry momentum.
Vision systems require increasingly intelligent tech solutions as the world gets more digital and technology becomes more autonomous and powerful. These solutions must not only keep up with new technology, but they must also be more power efficient and cross-platform compatible.
Prophesee, situated in Paris, was launched in 2014 and is one of the leading names in the space. The business has closed its Series C funding round in order to expedite the development and commercialization of its AI-enabled neuromorphic vision systems.
Details on funding
Prosperity Ventures made a new investment in the €50 million Series C round. They joined early backers Sinovation Ventures and Xiaomi. Existing backers include Intel Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, 360 Capital, iBionext, and the European Investment Bank, as well as investors from North America, Europe, and Japan.
With this round, the Paris-based business becomes Europe’s best-funded fabless semiconductor startup, raising a total of approximately €126 million. It received €25 million in 2019.
Luca Verre, co-founder and CEO of Prophesee: “Gaining the support of such a substantial investor as Prosperity7 adds another globally-focused backer that has a long-term vision and understanding of the requirements to achieve success with a deep tech semiconductor investment. Their support is a testament to the progress achieved and the potential that lies ahead for Prophesee. We appreciate the rigor which they, and all our investors, have used in evaluating our technology and business model and are confident their commitment to a long-term relationship will be mutually beneficial.”
Creative uses of computer vision
Prophesee is adopting a novel approach to machine vision, moving away from typical camera technologies. In doing so, the company directly addresses the growing demand for more effective methods to record and process the huge growth in video input volume.
The company employs neuromorphic techniques, which effectively imitate how the human brain and sight work. Prophesee’s event-based Metavision technology minimises the quantity of data required to capture information in this way.
Aysar Tayeb, the Executive Managing Director at Prosperity7: “Prophesee is leading the development of a very unique solution that has the potential to revolutionize and transform the way motion is captured and processed.”
The sensor and AI technology’s advantages include ultra-low latency, resistance to demanding lighting conditions, energy efficiency, and low data rate. This makes it well-suited for a wide range of applications in industrial automation, IoT, and consumer electronics that require real-time video data analysis while operating under strict power, size, and lighting constraints.
Prophesee’s technology has acquired market traction with important partners around the world, who are implementing it into advanced vision systems for use cases in smartphones, AR/VR headsets, industrial automation and maintenance, and science and health research.
For example, the startup has created a next-generation HD vision sensor in collaboration with Sony that blends Sony’s CMOS image sensor technology with Prophesee’s unique event-based Metavision® sensing technology.
Prophesee has also formed commercial alliances with leading machine vision suppliers such as Lucid, Framos, Imago, and Century Arks, and its open-source model for accessing its software and development tools has enabled a rapidly growing community of 5,000+ developers to use the technology in novel and creative ways.
This fresh investment provides Prophesee with additional impetus in advancing the development and commercialization of its next-generation hardware and software products, as well as positioning the company to target new and growing market opportunities and scale the company further. The company’s investors’ support increases its potential to generate commercial prospects in important ecosystems such as semiconductors, industrial, robotics, IoT, and mobile devices.
Aysar Tayeb: “The company has established itself as a clear leader in applying neuromorphic methods to computer vision with its revolutionary event-based Metavision® sensing and processing approach. With its fundamentally differentiated AI-driven sensor solution, its demonstrated track record with global leaders such as Sony, and its fast-growing ecosystem of more than 5,000 developers using its technology, we believe Prophesee is well-positioned to enable paradigm-shift innovation that brings new levels of safety, efficiency and sustainability to various market segments, including smartphones, automotive, AR/VR and industrial automation.”