The finalists are announced! Come hear the live pitches of these photonics-based startups.
Finalists are organized by development stage:

Startup Challenge competition pitches
Series A/B fund-raising pitches One team representative from each team will pitch their light-based business. Presenters in the Startup Challenge are competing for a US $10,000 first prize.


2023 SPIE Startup Challenge Finalists

	Actoprobe, with Nano-Spectroscopy Probe for advanced manufacturing and life science	Category: Deep Tech
	FlulDect, with sensor technology combining the effects of whispering-gallery-modes (WGM) with functionalized fluorescent beads to detect pathogens in applications including food safety	Category: Deep Tech
	KostaCLOUD Inc., with a cloud-based optical design and simulation tool enabling real-time, optical-mechanical design collaboration, dramatically improving design-optimization times	Category: Deep Tech
	Lighthanded Enterprises, with LasEar Laser Otoscope, to improve diagnosis of common causes of childhood-hearing loss	Category: Healthcare
	PatenSee, with an innovative combination of machine learning and imaging technology for dialysis patients	Category: Healthcare
	PhoMedics Limited, with a histological imaging microscope offering real-time status during cancer surgery	Category: Healthcare
	Phosio, with nanoimprintable, high-refractive index transparent coatings, a critical tool for expanding optical designs in AR	Category: Deep Tech
	PhosPrint, with a novel technology that repairs in vivo human tissue during surgery	Category: Healthcare
	QART Medical, utilizing biophotonics and data for 3D analysis of sperm cells during IVF	Category: Healthcare
	Swave Photonics, enabling display-makers and content-creators with immersive holographic displays	Category: Deep Tech


JUDGES

Garrett Cole Technology Manager,Crystalline Solutions ThorLabs (USA)

Garrett Cole together with Markus Aspelmeyer, founded Crystalline Mirror Solutions (CMS) in 2012, an international photonics start-up commercializing high-performance optics for laser-based metrology and manufacturing. CMS was acquired by Thorlabs in December 2019 and has been rebranded as Thorlabs Crystalline Solutions. Dr. Cole has co-authored 2 book chapters and published 60 journal articles including papers in Science, Nature, Nature Physics, Nature Photonics, Nature Nanotechnology, and Nature Communications. In addition to numerous startup prizes, Dr. Cole received the LIGHT2015 Young Photonics Entrepreneur Award, a Berthold Leibinger Innovationspreis in 2016, an SPIE Prism Award in 2017, and was selected by Unesco as a Trust Science Champion for the International Day of Light in 2021.

Marc Himel Director of Inside Sales and Customer Success MKS Instruments (USA)

Marc Himel the Director of Inside Sales and Customer Success at MKS Instruments’ Newport subsidiary, brings 30 years of experience to advancing the application of photonics to solve complex system’s issues in semiconductor manufacturing, material processing, and other commercial and consumer applications. Before joining Newport in 2018, he performed business development and product management at Jenoptik Optical Systems and DigitalOptics Corporation where he concentrated his efforts on the development of micro-optics for semiconductor, industrial, medical, and consumer applications. Prior to this he worked at SVG Lithography Systems and AT&T Bell Laboratories developing advanced lithography systems. Dr. Himel received his BS degree in Physics from the California Polytechnic State University, his PhD in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona, and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. His research and development activity has resulted in over 46 published papers, three patents, and promotion to SPIE Fellow in 2010.

Kristin Holzhey VP SBU Optical Test & Measurement and Managing Director TRIOPTICS GmbH JENOPTIK

Kristin Holzhey is the Vice President of Jenoptik’s Optical Test & Measurement Strategic Business Unit (including TRIOPTICS and OTTO Vision). She joined Jenoptik in 2007 and has worked in various functions. She has an MBA from University of Aberdeen (UK) and profound experience in optical metrology business and post-merger integrations.

Agnes Hübscher Senior Director Global Strategic Marketing Edmund Optics (USA)

Agnes Hübscher grew up in Jena, a famous optical cluster in Germany, She was fascinated by the topics "glass" and "optics" at an early age. Working in the photonics field since 2002, Agnes has held multiple positions that have brought her closer to various facets of the industry in Germany and abroad. Today she works as Senior Director Global Strategic Marketing for Edmund Optics, a US based global manufacturer and distributor of precision optics, optical assemblies and imaging components. Through her career, she has been heavily involved in various global committees and associations.

Richard Oberreiter Managing Executive Hamamatsu Ventures (USA)

Richard Oberreiter has successfully led new ventures and orchestrated turnaround for over 30 years s. After graduating from UCLA, he was commissioned as a naval officer and served on guided missile cruisers and frigates. After leaving the Navy he became a business attorney in California. During the dot.com boom a client recruited Richard to be COO of a financial software start-up. Since then, he has been a CEO or COO for four medical device companies and has brought multiple medical devices to market. Today, he manages the corporate venture capital group for Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., one of the world’s leaders in photonic technologies.

Sujatha Ramanujan Managing Director NextCorps Luminate (USA)

Sujatha Ramanujan is a serial entrepreneur and seasoned executive with 25 years of experience in Clinical Devices and in Consumer Electronics. Sujatha has started, built, and grown three startup businesses in cardiac surgical equipment, optical communications, and nano materials. In addition, as CTO and Product Line Manager of Mammography CAD and Pediatric Businesses within Kodak and Carestream, her team developed and launched clinical equipment and Clinical IT on every continent. Sujatha has held scientific, technical leadership, and laboratory head positions in Chrysler Corporation, GE, Kodak, Carestream, and Intrinsiq Materials. She holds 28 issued US patents.