Lens Vector

Home > News > What's New

LENSVECTOR™ ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $50 MILLION IN FINANCING

Institutional Venture Partners Leads Growth Investment in Company

That Replaces Moving Parts of Camera Phones with Solid-State Optics

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 4, 2010 - LensVector™, Inc. , the leader in solid-state optical components for camera phones, laptops and other consumer electronics, today announced it has closed $30 million in a Series C financing round, bringing the total financial backing of the company to more than $50 million. Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) led the new funding and joins existing investors Menlo Ventures, Samsung, Silicon Valley Bank, Mitsui and Kodak. LensVector will use proceeds from the financing to expand operations.

As part of the funding, Norm Fogelsong, General Partner of IVP, has joined the LensVector Board of Directors. ''We were attracted to LensVector because of its proprietary autofocus technology and the large camera phone market opportunity,'' said Fogelsong. ''The LensVector management team is also top-notch, with decades of experience in this industry.''

LensVector has developed breakthrough optical technology that can shape, steer and focus light without mechanical movement. The company's technology addresses the need for autofocus and other advanced optical features in the large and rapidly growing market for miniature cameras embedded in mobile phones, laptops, pocket video camcorders and other consumer electronics. Sampling today with key customers, LensVector technology replaces the complex, bulky and often fragile mechanical autofocus mechanisms currently found in camera phones with a simple and easy-to-integrate solid-state component.

''LensVector is receiving tremendous response from handset customers that want small, energy-efficient, rugged autofocus solutions that can easily be integrated into their devices and mass manufactured at a competitive cost. Consumer demand for better picture quality, plus high-value applications like bar-code scanning and video, are key demand drivers,'' said LensVector CEO Derek Proudian. ''This financing will allow us to scale our manufacturing capacity and better serve this growing demand from our customers.''

More »

FOXCONN AND UMC JOIN SAMSUNG AS INVESTORS IN LENSVECTOR™

Consumer Electronics Industry Leaders Back Company That

Replaces Moving Parts of Camera Phones with Solid-State Optics

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 11, 2010 - LensVector™, Inc. , the leader in solid-state optical components for camera phones, laptops and other consumer electronics, today announced that Foxconn Technology Group and UMC have joined Samsung as investors in the company's $30 million Series C financing round.

Other investors joining the Series C round include Translink and Harbor Pacific. The proceeds will be used to expand LensVector operations and bring the total financial backing of the company to more than $50 million.

''These investments are strong industry endorsements from the top players in mobile consumer electronics, and we are poised to make significant contributions to the industry with our breakthrough optical technology,'' said LensVector CEO Derek Proudian.

LensVector has developed breakthrough optical technology that can shape, steer and focus light without mechanical movement. Sampling today with key customers, LensVector technology replaces the complex, bulky and often fragile mechanical autofocus mechanisms currently found in camera phones with a simple and easy-to-integrate solid-state component.

''LensVector's unique technology makes advanced camera features, previously only available in point and shoot digital still cameras or high-end handsets, practical for every camera phone,'' said Brian Kang, managing director of Samsung Ventures America. ''LensVector autofocus has the potential to greatly expand the market, with increased revenue opportunities for service providers and an improved picture-taking experience for consumers all over the world. The technology is also perfect for video.''

''Foxconn is both the leading provider of camera module solutions and mobile phone contract manufacturing services in the world, and LensVector's technology has great promise to help Foxconn deliver superior products to our customers,'' said Foxconn. ''LensVector allows autofocus to be deployed in phones that historically have been unable to support this feature because mechanical solutions were either too large or too expensive to be deployed.''

More »

Summit Programmable Driver Powers LensVector™ Solid-State Autofocus Device for Mobile Phone Cameras

Complete autofocus driver solution integrates high-voltage drive, signal

processing, digital control and non-volatile configuration into tiny chip-scale

package.

Sunnyvale and Mountain View, Calif. - February 15, 2010 - Summit Microelectronics, the leader in programmable mixed-signal power management IC solutions, has introduced the SMB274 programmable driver for the LensVector™ solid-state AutoFocus device.

The SMB274 demonstrates Summit's leadership in programmable mixed-signal power management, integrating high-performance analog power and high-density digital control. This high level of integration combined with micro-power operation in an ultra-compact CSP package and minimum external components yields an ideal solution for the next generation of miniature digital cameras employing LensVector AutoFocus technology.

LensVector has developed breakthrough optical technology that can shape, steer and focus light without mechanical movement. The company's technology addresses the need for autofocus and other advanced optical features in the large and rapidly growing market for miniature cameras embedded in mobile phones, laptops, pocket video camcorders and other consumer electronics. Sampling today with key customers, LensVector AutoFocus replaces the complex, bulky and often fragile mechanical autofocus mechanisms currently found in camera phones with a simple and easy-to-integrate solid-state component.

''The close partnership and cooperative product development efforts between LensVector and Summit have enabled the timely introduction of the first complete solid-state autofocus solution for handheld applications,'' stated Abid Hussain, Summit's Vice President of Marketing and Applications. ''The SMB274's tiny solution size and the ultra-compact LensVector AutoFocus device combine to create unprecedented performance and form factors in digital imaging. Summit is pleased to be part of this ground breaking innovation.''

''Our handset customers have expressed strong interest in small, energy-efficient, rugged autofocus solutions from LensVector that can easily be integrated into their devices and mass manufactured at a competitive cost, '' said LensVector CEO Derek Proudian. ''Summit's driver IC complements these advantages and delivers a solution that brings autofocus to every camera phone. The solution simplifies camera module designs and fits seamlessly into module integrator's existing assembly processes.''

More »