Swave Photonics, QART Medical, and PhosPrint win big at 2023 SPIE Startup Challenge
2.2.2023 00:02:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Yesterday, at a ceremony during SPIE Photonics West, Swave Photonics – with their Holographic eXtended Reality chips based on proprietary diffractive photonics technology – was announced the winner of the $10,000 top prize at the 13th annual SPIE Startup Challenge.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230201005834/en/
Jenoptik’s Ralf Kuschnereit, far left, Swave Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Theo Marescaux, Swave CEO Mike Noonen, and 2023 SPIE Vice President Peter de Groot. Credit: Joey Cobbs.
QART Medical, utilizing biophotonics and data for 3D analysis of sperm cells during IVF, received $5,000 for second place. PhosPrint came in third, winning $2,500, with their novel bioprinting technology that repairs in vivo human tissue during surgery. All cash prizes are provided by SPIE Startup Challenge Founding Partner Jenoptik.
The SPIE Startup Challenge, a pitch competition held annually by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, showcases new businesses, products, and technologies that address critical needs by utilizing photonics in the areas of healthcare and deep tech. This year’s finalists included innovations in medical diagnostics, medical imaging, food safety, and display technology.
“It’s a privilege just to present to a such distinguished audience,” says Swave Photonics CEO Mike Noonen. “Participating at the Startup Challenge was an award in itself, but to actually win first-place recognition, well, our team is very excited. We really want to thank the sponsors and SPIE and Photonics West for the opportunity.”
“It's very nice to get the acknowledgement,” notes QART Medical CEO and Co-Founder Alon Shalev. “The judges were very supportive, and they gave us good insights yesterday in the preparation session. I think SPIE Photonics West is a wonderful, wonderful event, and a great opportunity to see and meet people. Being acknowledged is always nice, and this feels like a real achievement.”
“It was a great experience for me,” adds Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of PhosPrint Ioanna Zergioti. “It was exciting for us to have the opportunity to present our startup at the SPIE Startup Challenge. It was especially great to work with the judges, and to get feedback from senior investors in the field.”
The 2023 SPIE Startup Challenge was supported by Founding Partner Jenoptik; Lead Sponsors Edmund Optics, Hamamatsu, MKS Instruments, and Thorlabs; and Supporting Sponsors NextCorps Luminate and Photonics Media. The competition judges who vetted the applicants for their business models, financial cases, and competitive advantages included Jenoptik’s Kristin Holzhey, MKS Instruments’ Marc D. Himel, Edmund Optics' Agnes Hübscher, NextCorps Luminate’s Sujatha Ramanujan, Hamamatsu Ventures’ Richard Oberreiter, and Thorlabs’ Garrett Cole.
Light-based technologies enable developments in a proliferating number of areas, from healthcare and high-speed communications to quantum computing, AR/VR/MR, and self-driving vehicles. The SPIE Startup Challenge is an annual entrepreneurial pitch competition for new businesses that utilize optics and photonics to create innovative products, applications, and technologies. Startup Challenge winners that have gone on to wider commercial success include Cellino Biotech, Double Helix Optics, PhotoniCare, C. Light Technologies, Circle Optics, and In A Blink.
About SPIE
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, SPIE has contributed more than $22 million to the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development. www.spie.org.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230201005834/en/
Contact information
Daneet Steffens
Public Relations Manager
daneets@spie.org
+1 360 685 5478
@SPIEtweets
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
2PointZero Group Completes Majority Acquisition in Italy-Based ISEM Packaging Group for AED 704 Million5.3.2026 23:02:00 EET | Press release
2PointZero Group PJSC (ADX: 2PointZero), a next-generation investment powerhouse focused on energy and consumer sectors, announced today that it has formally completed the transaction to acquire a majority position in ISEM, a leading European packaging group serving beauty, fashion, luxury, nutraceuticals and more, for AED 704 million through a combination of secondary and primary capital earmarked to accelerate organic and inorganic growth. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305800523/en/ 2PointZero Group completes majority acquisition in Italy-based ISEM Packaging Group for AED 704 million (Photo: AETOSWire) 2PointZero Group now holds 60.8% of ISEM, while Peninsula Capital and minority investors own the remaining 39.2%. This marks the start of a strategic partnership between 2PointZero and Peninsula. Together, the partners will reinforce ISEM’s leadership position with a focus on category and geographic expa
Xsolla Announces Reseller Program to Help Game Developers Unlock New Revenue Streams in Local Markets5.3.2026 19:00:00 EET | Press release
Xsolla, a leading global video game commerce company, today announced the Xsolla Reseller Program, a new product designed to help game developers scale and capture untapped revenue in local markets with no development needed. The program launches with a curated cohort of resellers and distributors in Southeast Asia and Latin America, with expansion into additional regions throughout 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305047070/en/ Graphic: Xsolla As game developers pursue global growth, they face a fundamental infrastructure challenge: billions of dollars in revenue remain untapped in emerging, cash-dependent economies, such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa, where players purchase digital content through local distribution partners. In mature digital economies, developers seek to extend their reach and distribute digital inventory at scale through more partners and chan
Xsolla Agency Launches to Empower Creators Across Entertainment-Based Intellectual Property5.3.2026 17:23:00 EET | Press release
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, today launched Xsolla Agency, a comprehensive service connecting game developers with premium entertainment-based intellectual property (IP). The integrated offering addresses critical challenges for game creators: access to world-class IP, global monetization capabilities, and the operational infrastructure needed to build sustainable businesses. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305044119/en/ Graphic: Xsolla Xsolla Agency simplifies access to entertainment-based licenses through expert-led negotiations and industry relationships, offering affordable, monetization-focused deals structured for maximum ROI. Strategic IP partnerships increase discoverability, reduce user acquisition costs, and drive higher player spend through impactful LiveOps events and promotional campaigns. The service is backed by the same commerce infrastructure powering 1,500+ game developers
Onego Bio and Sigma Foods Enter Collaboration to Strengthen Egg Protein Innovation and Supply Resilience5.3.2026 17:00:00 EET | Press release
Onego Bio, a food ingredient company producing non-animal egg protein, and Sigma Foods ("SIGMA"), a leading multinational food company, have entered into a collaboration agreement to evaluate the functionality and commercial potential of Bioalbumen®, a non-animal egg protein made with using precision fermentation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305756400/en/ The partnership focuses on advancing ingredient innovation while addressing urgent challenges in today’s egg supply chain—including volatility, rising prices, and avian flu-related disruptions. Bioalbumen® offers a shelf-stable, animal-free alternative that delivers the same functional, nutritional, and sensory performance as traditional eggs, while helping safeguard supply continuity for food manufacturers. Additionally, this collaboration supports Sigma’s commitment to offering safe, nutritious, and high-quality food, while driving science-based inno
Vertex to Present New Data on JOURNAVX ® That Demonstrates Effective Pain Management Following Aesthetic and Reconstructive Procedures5.3.2026 17:00:00 EET | Press release
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced data from a Phase 4 study of JOURNAVX® (suzetrigine), a prescription non-opioid pain signal inhibitor for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain, in adults, that demonstrated effective pain management and enabled opioid-free recovery after a broad range of plastic surgical procedures. These data showed that the majority of patients (90.9%) in the study were opioid free through the end of treatment (up to 14 days), demonstrating the potential for JOURNAVX as a core element of opioid-free multimodal treatment for moderate-to-severe acute pain after aesthetic and reconstructive procedures. In contrast, the literature shows opioid-free rates of less than 10% with multimodal treatment without JOURNAVX. These data will be presented at the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) PainConnect 2026 meeting, March 5-8, 2026, in Salt Lake City, UT. This Phase 4 open-label, multicenter, single-arm study evaluated JOURNAVX w
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom