Partner related news
Azalea Vision develops autonomous smart solutions embedded inside a contact lens to improve the quality of life of people with light sensitivity or ocular disorders. The company has announced the closing of its Series A funding round, comprised of € 6.2 million in equity and € 1.8 million as a non-dilutive grant.
About Azalea Vision
Azalea Vision is a joint spin-off from imec and Ghent University. A pioneer in HealthTech smart solutions for people with vision disorders, Azalea Vision is developing a smart contact lens to improve the lives of people living with light sensitivity and ocular disorders. The company closed a € 8 million Series A in 2021, supported by investors Imec.xpand, Elaia, Sensinnovat and Shigeru in addition to a non-dilutive research grant from Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). For more info: https://azaleavision.com
About imec.xpand
Imec.xpand is an early stage and growth fund with a game-changing approach to turn hardware driven nanotechnology innovation into successful global companies. The fund is independently managed by a team of entrepreneurs, seasoned venture capitalists and business experts and is targeting ambitious tech start-ups that meet all the criteria to become a successful, scalable venture with the potential to change the world and where imec knowledge, expertise and infrastructure can play a determining role in their success. For more information about imec.xpand, please visit www.imecxpand.com
About Elaia
Elaia is a European top-tier VC firm with a strong tech DNA. We back tech disruptors with global ambition from early stage to growth development. For the past 18 years, our commitment has been to deliver high performance with values. Learn more www.elaia.com
About Sensinnovat
Sensinnovat is an investment company based in Belgium. It indirectly holds large stakes in several European listed semiconductor companies. The company also actively manages and invests in other industries, a.o. in the Health and MedTech sector.
About Shigeru
SHIGERU is a private equity-based venture capital in Basel, Switzerland. We provide the technology transfer platforms supporting promising venture companies and research entrepreneurs contributing to global health. https://shigeru.ch
About imec
Imec is a world-leading research and innovation center in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Imec leverages its state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure and its team of more than 4,500 employees and top researchers, for R&D in advanced semiconductor and system scaling, silicon photonics, artificial intelligence, beyond 5G communications and sensing technologies, and in application domains such as health and life sciences, mobility, industry 4.0, agri-food, smart cities, sustainable energy, education, etc. imec unites world-industry leaders across the semiconductor value chain, Flanders-based and international tech, pharma, medical and ICT companies, start-ups, and academia and knowledge centers. Imec is headquartered in Leuven (Belgium), and has research sites across Belgium, in the Netherlands, Taiwan and the USA, and offices in China, India and Japan. In 2020, imec's revenue (P&L) totalled 680 million euro.
About Ghent University
Ghent University (UGent) is one of the largest Belgian universities in the heart of Europe and an active partner in national and international educational, scientific, and industrial cooperation. Our organization is dedicated to research and innovation with an annual research budget of over €600 million and more than 5,500 researchers.
https://www.ugent.be/techtransfer/nl/overtechtransfer/overview.htm
About VLAIO
The Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) is an organization of the Flemish government for all entrepreneurs in Flanders. www.vlaio.be