Looking to advance programmable systems for robotics and smart infrastructure, Lumotive’s optical semiconductor platform has received funding from both the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and Oman’s sovereign tech fund, ITHCA Group.
The scaling of Lumotive’s patented Light Control Metasurface (LCM) platform, which the company says enables software-defined beam steering for optical sensing and communication systems, has received a boost with new investments from Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund and Oman’s sovereign technology fund, ITHCA Group, bringing the company’s Series B funding round total to $59m.
Lumotive’s core innovation replaces traditional mechanical and MEMS-based beam steering components with a digital semiconductor-based solution. According to the start-up developer, this allows for dynamic, solid-state control of light in compact form factors – a key requirement in industrial automation, robotics and logistics. The company’s LCM chips employ metasurface optics to perform programmable beamforming in the near-infrared spectrum, enabling fast, flexible and reliable control of light without moving parts.
“With their programmable optical beamforming chips, Lumotive is building a critical foundation for the next generation of intelligent machines,” said Franziska Bossart, Director of the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund. “We’re excited to support their mission and see broad potential for their technology in industrial automation, robotics, and beyond.”
The Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund typically supports companies with disruptive potential, and the investment signals the company’s confidence in Lumotive’s platform as a foundational component in emerging perception systems for autonomous industrial systems.
Meanwhile, ITHCA Group – Oman’s government-backed technology investment arm – has also joined the round. The Group’s investment portfolio tends to focus on initiatives aligned with national digital transformation goals, including smart infrastructure and AI deployment across the Gulf region. “Lumotive’s presence in Oman strengthens our innovation ecosystem and supports national priorities across telecommunications, AI and smart infrastructure,” said Said bin Abdullah Al Mandhari, CEO of ITHCA Group.
Giving OEMs and developers the ability to implement precise, electronically steerable optical systems, without the limitations of mechanical actuation, the LCM platform could be particularly impactful for applications such as lidar, 3D sensing and dynamic optical switching. Especially in environments that require compact, ruggedised and high-performance hardware.
“These investments reinforce the transformational potential of our programmable optical semiconductor platform,” said Dr. Sam Heidari, CEO of Lumotive. “As global industries embrace software-defined automation, Lumotive is uniquely positioned to deliver the intelligent sensing solutions needed for the future of robotics, logistics and manufacturing.”
Lumotive’s other and previous backers include Stifel Bank, HiMax, Hokuyo, Gates Frontier, MetaVC Partners, Quan Funds, Swisscom Ventures, TSVC and Bill Gates.
