Amazec Photonics Secures €1.5M; BluGlass Raises $4.3M: Week in Brief: 2/16/24
SILVERWATER, Australia Feb. 16, 2024 — BluGlass Limited, a semiconductor developer, has received $4.3 million in commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors. The funds will be used to scale and speed production and delivery of BluGlass’ visible lasers to fulfil new and existing contracts. The funds will also support the acquisition of additional fabrication equipment, working capital, and development of products to increase market competitiveness and sales.
Amazec Photonics' €1.5 million seed round will go to developing cardiovascular monitoring tools. Courtesy of PhotonDelta.
OUDKARSPEL, The Netherlands — Medtech company Amazec Photonics has secured a €1.5 million ($1.6 million) seed round to develop its minimally invasive diagnosis devices for cardiovascular monitoring. Led by PhotonDelta, the round saw contributions from private investors and will be used to develop prototypes and undertake clinical trials. The company plans to sell the devices in the European market by 2028.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — SCD USA subsidiary Quantum Imaging has been selected by Leonardo DRS Inc. to provide its MIRA shortwave infrared camera to support its Joint Effects Targeting System II (JETS II), which it is developing for a U.S. Army engineering and manufacturing development phase. The JETS II system provides precision target locations and can use a laser to mark or designate a target for precision munitions. Quantum Imaging's MIRA cameras are capable of event-based imaging in parallel with highly sensitive SWIR video imaging.
CAMBRIDGE, England — Cambridge Mechatronics Limited, a designer of shape memory alloy actuators, has closed a funding round totaling over $40 million with the intent of expanding its actuator and controller IC product portfolios. The round was led by Atlantic Bridge with participation from Intel Capital, Supernova, and the Sony Innovation fund. Cambridge Mechatronics' technology enables autofocus and optical image stabilization in a more compact and lightweight design. It has applications in compact imaging technologies, including consumer electronics.
AUSTIN, Texas — SAM, a provider of geospatial and inspection services, has acquired PrecisionPoint Inc., a 3D laser scanning to building information modeling firm. PrecisionPoint will join SAM’s managed geospatial services business unit that is chartered with advancing data acquisition, improving analysis, and developing predictive analytics. The acquisition also bolsters SAM’s resources in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
The LITENING Large Aperture targeting pod. Courtesy of Northrop Grumman.
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. — Aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman’s LITENING Large Aperture (LITENING LA) targeting pod has been tapped by the U.S. Air Force for use across existing LITENING inventory. LITENING LA is an electro-optical/infrared pod for targeting and surveillance that enables aircrews to detect, acquire, identify, and track targets at long ranges. The pod features high-resolution, digital color video and infrared sensors, datalink capability, and advanced algorithms. The system will be integrated through the Air Force's existing aircraft inventory.
The camera used in the ExoMars Raman Laser Spectrometer. Courtesy of INTA/UVA.
SWINDON, U.K. — The U.K. Space Agency has invested a total £7.4 million ($9.3 million) for both domestic and global space projects including the University of Leicester’s project to create a Raman spectroscopy instrument for iSpace’s commercial rover and lander missions investigating water ice on the Moon. Other projects will include University of Sussex and NASA’s FIR missions, The Open University and Canadian Space Agency’s I-MIM, and University of Aberdeen and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s HABIT.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Fiber optics experiments sponsored by the International Space Station National Laboratory launched on Northrop Grumman’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services mission. The experiments will test Flawless Photonics' approach to solving the issue of gravity-induced defects in optical glass products manufactured on earth, including ZBLAN optical glass.
LONDON — BAE Systems, an aerospace and security company, has received the necessary regulatory approvals to complete the acquisition of Ball Aerospace from Ball Corporation. The final transaction is expected to close at a purchase price of $5.5 billion, which will be funded through existing cash and new external debt. The newly acquired business will be called Space & Mission Systems and will map within BAE’s electronic systems reporting segment.
PLANO, Texas — Provider of optical networking solutions Ribbon Communications Inc. will transition a branch of the US Military's voice infrastructure to voice over internet protocol ahead of the 2025 deadline mandated by the Department of Defense, in collaboration with Dell Technologies. The solution includes SIP-PBX multi-tenancy, detailed call analytics, license pooling, and analog time division multiplexing to session initiation protocol gateways as well as a policy routing engine and session border controllers.
The PACE spacecraft in the process of being launched by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Courtesy of NASA.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA's plankton, aerosol, cloud, ocean ecosystem (PACE) spacecraft successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. PACE will study the impact of microscopic life in water and microscopic particles in the air using a combination of hyperspectral instruments and polarimeters. PACE will provide insights into the interactions between the ocean and atmosphere, and how a changing climate affects these interactions.
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