According to Memes Consulting, recently, Nephotonics Technology announced the completion of the B1 round of financing, with a financing amount of several hundred million yuan. The co-investors in this round include Hefei Industrial Investment Group, Haiheng Capital, Chuanggu Capital, Shenzhen Small and Medium-sized Dan Venture Capital, Science and Technology Co., Ltd. Yushengda Fund Co., Ltd. and many other institutions and well-known investors. The funds raised in this round are mainly used to accelerate the mass production of ToF chips and micro sensors, further enrich the ToF product line, and expand the application of cooperation with all parties in the industry chain.
Nephotonics Technology was established in 2016 by industry experts, Dr. Gu Tie and Dr. Xu Yuan. It is headquartered in Shenzhen and has R&D centers in Shanghai, China and Oregon, USA. In 2013, Nephotonics Technology has already carried out ToF related technology research, and it is one of the earliest companies to carry out ToF technology research and development in China.
Nephotonics Technology takes i-ToF and d-ToF technology as the core. In the field of product research and development, there are not only cost-effective 180nm front-illuminated (FSI) solutions, but also advanced 40nm back-illuminated (BSI) 3D stacked d-ToF technology. Nephotonics Technology continues to innovate and grow gradually. It is one of the chip companies with the most comprehensive ToF technology in the industry. In the development process of Nephotonics Technology, it has always adhered to the route of independent intellectual property rights, and has independent developed the entire chain of chip design, pixel structure, process development, depth algorithm, etc., and has successively launched two product lines of micro-sensors and ToF chips.
In 2020, Nephotonics Technology launched the first 1d ToF sensor ND01 in China, which has been mass-produced and applied in smart glasses, sweepers, bathrooms, AIoT, lamps and other fields. The ToF product ND03 increases the detection distance to more than 3m and further reduces the product size. In terms of ToF area array chips, three products, NP2F3202, NP2F2401 and NP2F1201, have been launched, with product resolutions ranging from 120 x 90 to QVGA. At the same time, the first domestic VGA i-ToF area array sensor using 3D stacked BSI process will be launched in Q2 2022. It can be widely used in AR equipment, mobile phones, robots, door locks, projectors, smart homes and other fields.
Figure 1 Nephotonics Technology's second-generation 1D ToF sensor ND03
Figure 2 Nephotonics Technology area array ToF chip NP2F3202
In the past two years, the concept of the metaverse has gradually become popular, and it has also driven the development of the AR/VR industry. Dr. Gu Tie, Chairman of Nephotonics Technology, in addition to founding Nephotonics Technology, also founded Hefei Seeya Technology (mainly focusing on near-eye display solutions). Dr. Gu Tie said that AR/VR technology is the key technology in the Metaverse, and near-eye display technology 3D ToF and 3D ToF are both key components for display and interaction in AR/VR technology, and Seeya and Nephotonics will jointly deploy near-eye display and 3D ToF to make the most solid technical reserves for the development of the Metaverse.
Introduction of Nephotonics Technology:
Founded in 2016, Shenzhen Nephotonics Technology Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise focusing on the research and development of 3D ToF chips and vision solutions. It is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, and has established R&D centers in Shanghai, China and Oregon, USA. The company's core technology covers i-ToF and d-ToF. Since its establishment, it has aimed at market demand and adhered to the independent research and development route. It has independent intellectual property rights in the whole process from underlying chip design, process process to upper-level algorithm and product integration. A variety of 1D ToF micro-sensors and ToF chip products including the first 1D ToF sensor in China. At the same time,Nephotonics Technology has published more than 50 papers related to 3D vision systems, and obtained more than 20 invention patents, several software copyrights and exclusive rights to layout design of integrated circuits.
Article source: Maimus Consulting https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xDxJHOPyuVO7O8qzSOoKzw