InVisage Technologies Inc., a Silicon Valley-based start-up company founded by Professor Ted Sargent (ECE) that is revolutionizing the image sensor market, has announced that it has received its Series C round of venture funding, led by Intel Capital. The undisclosed amount will be used to bring the company’s breakthrough QuantumFilm technology and products into mass production. Intel Capital joins InVisage’s existing investors RockPort Capital, InterWest Partners, OnPoint Technologies, and Charles River Ventures.

“Image sensors for smart phones and handheld devices are a huge market opportunity, and InVisage is well positioned to capture significant market share,” says Dave Flanagan, Managing Director, Intel Capital. “InVisage is the first company in awhile to think differently about image sensors, and we are confident that its products will lead the imaging market on a new vector of innovation.”

QuantumFilm was developed by InVisage after years of research at the University of Toronto and at InVisage. The technology is based on quantum dots — semiconductors with unique light-capture properties. QuantumFilm works by capturing an imprint of a light image and then using the silicon beneath it to read out the image and turn it into versatile digital signals. InVisage spent three years engineering the quantum dot material to produce highly sensitive image sensors that integrate with standard CMOS manufacturing processes. The first application of QuantumFilm will enable high performance in tiny form factors, breaking silicon’s inherent performance-resolution tradeoff.

Initially targeting cameraphone applications, which are the largest and fastest growing portion of the image sensor market, InVisage Technologies’ QuantumFilm could be in devices early next year.

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