Insider Brief
- Elio raised $21 million to develop sensors that let AI systems decide what information to capture in real time rather than relying on fixed images designed for human vision.
- The round was led by Innovation Endeavors and Xora, with participation from Kevin Weil, Scribble VC, UpWest and Resolute Ventures.
- Elio said its optics-based technology could be used in microscopy, semiconductors, robotics and defense, including applications that require live cell observation, chip inspection, machine sensing and drone detection.
Elio has announced raising $21 million to develop sensors designed for AI systems “rather than the human eye.”
According to the California startup, the round was led by Innovation Endeavors and Xora, with participation from Kevin Weil and Scribble VC. Existing investors UpWest and Resolute Ventures also participated after leading the company’s previous round.
Elio is building sensors that allow AI systems to decide what information to capture in real time. The company said the approach differs from conventional sensors, which collect a fixed view of the world and leave software to interpret the image afterward.
The company’s technology puts computation inside the optics. Before light reaches the sensor, dynamic optical layers made of micromirrors process the light directly. Elio said its AI learns how the optics behave and adjusts them live, allowing the system to read objects and materials by physical signatures rather than only pixels.
The company said that setup could allow one sensor module to perform several sensing functions and gain new capabilities through software updates after deployment.
Elio said its technology can be used in several markets:
Microscopy: The company said its sensors can help researchers watch living cells respond to drugs over time without staining or fixing the sample.
Semiconductors: Elio said the system can help engineers inspect stacked chip layers and identify buried defects without cutting wafers apart.
Robotics: The company said the technology can give machines multiple sensing capabilities in one self-calibrating module.
Defense: Elio said its sensors can help detect small, fast-moving threats such as drones at long range, including in darkness or haze.
Elio is led by founder and CEO Nadav Grossinger and chief technology officer Nitay Romano. The company noted that the two have worked in optics and AI for more than 20 years.
Grossinger and Romano previously helped build Pebbles Interfaces, which was acquired by Meta, and later worked on the physical-sensing stack behind Meta’s AR and VR headsets. Grossinger’s earlier ventures include ColoRight, which was acquired by L’Oréal. Romano previously served as chief optical scientist at Holo/Or.
