18 Entrepreneurs to Square Off in Photonics West Pitch Contest

Eighteen semifinalists have been named in the annual SPIE Startup Challenge, where new entrepreneurs pitch their light-based technology products to a panel of venture capitalists and business development experts.

Some of the entries this year include a robotic platform for laser eye surgery, a sensors for self-driving cars, software for designing silicon photonic devices and an optical microphone.

The pitch contest will take place Feb. 11 at 3:30 p.m. during SPIE Photonics West at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

First-, second- and third-place cash prizes up to $10,000 are funded by Jenoptik, with additional support for the event from Hamamatsu, Trumpf, Open Photonics, Edmund Optics, Perkins Coie and Knobbe Martens.

For a full list of semifinalists and other details, visit www.spie.org.