Medical technology company iThera Medical closed a £13 million ($15.6 million) funding round led by TRUMPF Venture. The funding will drive the company’s commercialization and development of its multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) imaging technology, with a goal to translate the technology into a routine clinical environment and offer clinicians a diagnostic tool. Proceeds from the funding will also be used to secure regulatory approval for deployment in Europe and the U.S. and expand clinical evidence in priority clinical indications, the company said. TROY, Mich. — Computational science and artificial intelligence specialist Altair invested $10 million in Xscape Photonics, a startup with patented technology for photonic chips for ultrahigh bandwidth connections inside data centers and high-performance computing systems. The investment and collaboration with innovators in photonics will allow Altair to remain at the cutting edge of high-fidelity and advanced technologies, said Altair founder and CEO James Scapa. As part of the investment, Scapa will assume a seat on Xscape Photonics’ board of directors and Altair will secure a seat on the board of observers. Xscape Photonics’ technology platform uses optical and electronic modalities to connect various computing elements efficiently without compromising performance. Courtesy of Xscape Photonics. DITZINGEN, Germany — TRUMPF established a collaboration agreement with automated storage system manufacturer STOPA. TRUMPF’s smart factory solutions business, which uses STOPA’s storage technology, was recently brought together under a single umbrella with the goal of fueling further growth. TRUMPF’s investment in STOPA is subject to regulatory approval by the relevant antitrust authorities. The collaboration builds on the two companies’ 35-year relationship. ROANOKE, Va. — Luna Innovations, a developer of advanced fiber optic technologies, was awarded a contract with PT Freeport Indonesia, an affiliate of Freeport-McMoRan, a leading gold and copper mining company, to provide an early warning monitoring system for the west and east levees between the Otomona and Aikwa rivers in West Papua, Indonesia. Monitoring of the two levees will use a fiber optic-based distributed sensing system. A range of up to 50 km on both levees will be monitored for early warning signs of potential issues that could lead to a failure of the levee structure. The system can instantly identify cable breaks and temperature “hot spots” along the length of the fiber. BRUSSELS, Belgium — Perception technology company VoxelSensors entered into a strategic collaboration with OQmented, a technology company focused on microelectrochemical systems- (MEMS)-based AR/VR display and 3D sensing solutions. The collaboration focuses on the system integration and commercialization of VoxelSensors’ Switching Pixels 3D perception system for AR/VR/MR and XR devices, enabled through OQmented’s Lissajous scan pattern that provides faster and more efficient scanning compared to raster scanning. Voxel Sensors and OQmented established a strategic collaboration on laser scanning-based 3D perception technology. Courtesy of OQmented. PREMSTAETTEN, Austria — ams OSRAM entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Clay Paky entertainment lighting business to ARRI AG, a designer of camera and lighting systems, as well as systems solutions for film, broadcast, and media industries. Clay Paky, established in 1976, is a provider of moving body and moving mirror projectors, color-changers, followspots, projectors, and various lighting effects. With this agreement, ams OSRAM has implemented the last of its planned divestments following the acquisition of OSRAM, the company said. WASHINGTON, D.C. — NASA selected Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. to support the James Webb Space Telescope Phase E - Operations and Sustainment contract. The contract is a sole source cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with a value of $31,186,099. The period of performance is from Dec. 25 to June 24, 2027. The contractor will provide the products and services required to monitor and maintain Webb spacecraft systems including the spacecraft bus, optics/telescope, and sunshield; maintain and update the spacecraft flight software; and trend spacecraft performance and recommend corrections and updates required for spacecraft health and safety. The work will be performed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and at the contractor’s facility. ALBANY, N.Y. — Early Alzheimer's Diagnostics LLC a startup established by University at Albany chemist Igor Lednev, was awarded a National Science Foundation Small Business Technology Transfer grant in the amount of $274,713. The one-year grant will support a Phase I project to develop spectroscopy-based saliva screening tests that can detect biochemical changes specific to Alzheimer’s disease before the onset of symptoms like memory loss. The company received a $306,974 award in September from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support research on a spectroscopy-based method to screen blood for chemical markers indicating Alzheimer’s disease. CORK, Ireland — Tyndall National Institute joined with U.S.-based incubator Silicon Catalyst as an In-Kind Partner to its portfolio companies. Tyndall joins an expansive network of In-Kind Partners that support early stage companies’ efforts in research, development, and commercialization of semiconductor technologies. The partnership will allow Tyndall’s support and expertise to be offered to Silicon Catalyst portfolio companies developing technologies which coincide with Tyndall’s own research focuses, including semiconductor wafer fabrication, quantum materials and devices, micro-electronic and photonic integration and packaging, and biophotonics, bioelectronics, biomedical devices and systems. Professor William Scanlon, CEO of Tyndall National Institute, pictured in front of Tyndall’s fabrication facilities, which are available to Silicon Catalyst’s Portfolio Companies through the new In-Kind Partnership. Courtesy of Tyndall National Institute. ORLANDO, Fla. — LightPath Technologies, a manufacturer and integrator of proprietary optical and infrared technologies, will provide advanced infrared optics for a critical international military program that uses infrared imaging for threat detection and is used across U.S. military branches. LightPath’s proprietary Black Diamond chalcogenide (BD) glass solution reduces the need for crustal glass in infrared lenses and enables the use of multispectral cameras that reduce size, weight, and cost of visual systems across applications. The company was awarded an initial order of $2.5 million. BILLERICA, Mass. — Entegris, an advanced materials technology supplier for semiconductor and high-technology industries, will build a manufacturing center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The facility expands Entegris’ presence in the state and will initially support production for the company’s Microcontamination Control and Advanced Materials Handling divisions, which develop critical products used to manufacture semiconductors. The facility is expected to begin initial commercial operations in mid-2024.