Innovative Photonics Technologies LLC, (InPhoTec), a local start-up with one of their two offices located at Innovation Pointe in Downtown Evansville, advanced to the finals of the SPIE Startup Challenge in San Francisco. The Start-up Challenge is a premier annual event for the International Society for Optics and Photonics and one of the largest optics and photonics conferences in the world.
As one of twenty-four semi-finalists from around the globe invited to attend the Startup Challenge, InPhoTec was given three minutes to deliver their pitch for photonic integrated chips to a panel of judges. Within the three minutes, they also showcased the viability of their technology and business plan. InPhoTec was selected from the semi-final round as one of eight finalists to advance to the final round of the live competition, representing one of the two companies from the United States that qualified.
InPhoTec, founded by Dr. Azad Siahmakoun, a professor at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute for the past 27 years, is commercializing leading edge optical information processing architectures in photonic integrated chips; the product that InPhoTec is currently bringing to market that placed InPhoTec as one of the top eight photonics startup companies in the world is based on a patented architecture for an all-optical analog-to-digital converter (ADC). This device will enter a $4 billion annual data converter market, and InPhoTec is targeting entry into a $250 million sector that includes high performance ADCs. No other integrated all- optical ADC exists today, and when implemented on a photonic integrated chip (PIC), the InPhoTec device will surpass the performance of all existing electronic ADCs.
Other finalists at the competition included the top three finishers: A startup from the University of Western Australia presenting a microscope in a needle; a group from Massachusetts Institute of Technology presenting a handheld device that prescribes corrective eyeglasses; and an Israeli company MagBiosense, presenting a device for improved heart attack diagnosis.
“Being selected as one of the top eight photonics startup companies in the world by a group of experts in the field is very gratifying,” stated Dr. Azad Siahmakoun. “At the conclusion of the finals event, we had discussions with investors as well as potential early adopters of our technology.”
As one of the finalists, InPhoTec is sponsored by SPIE to attend a week-long entrepreneur “boot camp” at University of California-Davis Engineering Entrepreneurship Academies, designed to help participants refine their business plan, investment growth, and exit strategies.
“With only three minutes and two slides to convey the opportunity to the judges, the format was challenging and exciting. We are very appreciative of the support we have received from the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville and USI staff in preparing our business plan and pitch. Without question, their support over the past year put us in a position to advance to the finals of this international photonics competition,” added Dr. Siahmakoun.
About Innovative Photonics Technologies
Innovative Photonics Technologies, LLC (InPhoTec) is a leading edge technology company formed by Dr. Azad Siahmakoun of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with the expressed purpose of commercializing photonics technologies. Siahmakoun’s research and development has generated multiple patents covering fiber optic architectures for analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, photonic switching, and optical beamformers for steering multiple simultaneous RF beams. Siahmakoun’s research also includes plasmonics, micro-fabrication, and nanotechnology applications. At InPhoTec, he continues to drive innovation in photonics by implementing miniaturization of novel data converter and processor architectures.
About SPIE
SPIE is the international society for optical engineering, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. The Society serves nearly 256,000 constituents from approximately 155 countries, offering conferences, continuing education, books, journals, and a digital library in support of interdisciplinary information exchange, professional networking, and patent precedent. SPIE provided $3.2 million in support of education and outreach programs in 2013.
