Agate Sensors, a start-up that develops microsensors for material analysis, has announced that it has raised €5.6 million to commercialise a technology that reduces the size of spectroscopy instruments from laboratory equipment as large as suitcases to chips smaller than the tip of a needle.
The Finnish start-up’s technology enables devices to analyse the chemical composition of materials in real time, bringing high-precision material detection out of the laboratory and directly into everyday devices, from smartphones and wearables to medical equipment and defence systems.
The €4 million seed round was led by Voima Ventures and LIFTT, in addition to €1.6 million in grants from Business Finland.
“We took a spectrometer that was previously only used in specialised laboratories and made it so small and convenient that it can fit into everyday devices,” says Tommi Leino, CEO of Agate Sensors, in a statement. . “A sensor can switch from one function to another with just software, from diagnosing a health condition to detecting, identifying and classifying objects and materials, changing the way we interact with the physical world.”
Production of the first chips is expected by the end of the year, enabling demonstration prototypes to be built in 2026 and the first smart wearable products to be launched on the market by the end of 2027.
“This funding allows us to commercialise a technology that radically changes the way machines perceive the world,” says Mikael Westerlund, CBO of Agate Sensors. “We don’t just build sensors, we enable a new level of intelligence based on optical technology.”
Agate Sensors’ software-based spectroscopy platform reads the spectral fingerprint of materials through light analysis. Based on new discoveries in semiconductor physics research at Aalto University, published in Science and Nature Communications, this technology is the result of years of development in the field of miniaturising laboratory functionality for use in the mass market.
“Agate Sensors’ platform represents a step forward in the field of hyperspectral detection: software-defined, scalable and truly high-performance,” says Niko Elers, investment director at Voima Ventures. “It has immense potential to revolutionise industries that rely on precise optical measurements, and we are very excited to support the company in its future journey.”
Modern sensors can identify objects, measure distances and monitor environments. However, they remain blind to the composition of materials, a shortcoming that is becoming critical as artificial intelligence and autonomous systems require a deeper understanding of the environment.
Agate’s platform opens up a new dimension, enabling applications ranging from health monitoring via multiple biomarkers in wearable devices, to the detection of counterfeit products in supply chains, the identification of environmental risks in industry, and even the detection of camouflage equipment in the defence sector. These sensors capture not only visual data, but also the chemical and molecular composition of materials in real time, enabling machines to see and chemically understand their surroundings: labelling and tracking materials based on their unique spectral fingerprints and sharing this information across networks for coordinated analysis.
Defence is among the first applications ready for the market. For example, sensors are able to distinguish between real foliage and synthetic camouflage materials, or to identify specific types of vehicles through their colour characteristics.
“We believe that this innovation will play a key role in strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty in the defence and security sector,” adds Pierluigi Freni, project manager at LIFTT (pictured). “For the first time, we have technology that can be implemented on a large scale, enabling machines to understand what they see. This changes everything we know about the use and application of spectral data. We confirm our confidence in the Finnish innovation ecosystem, in which we have decided to continue investing together with LIFTT Euroinvest, the investment vehicle we share with the European Investment Bank.”
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