Optical Comb, a Japan-based developer of optical frequency combs, has secured ¥1.29bn ($11.8m) in series B capital from investors including subsidiaries of insurance firms Nippon Life and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance.
Nissay Capital and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital were joined by financial services firms Iyo Bank and Yamanashi Chuo Bank, through their respective subsidiaries Iyo Bank Capital and Yamanashi Chugin Management Consulting.
Tokyo Institute of Technology’s Innovations and Future Creation fund, public-private partnership Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), Hiroshima Venture Capital and Chibagin Capital filled out the round.
Founded in 2002, Optical Comb develops optical frequency combs, a type of laser source used to precisely measure light frequencies. The technology has applications in optical measurement systems for industrial inspections.
Optical Comb is based on work by chairman and executive director Motonobu Kourogi, a former researcher at Tokyo Institute of Technology.
The capital will expedite the company’s software development as it looks to offer artificial intelligence-based automatic industrial inspections. INCJ believes Optical Comb’s technology will enhance the capabilities of personnel and quality control in the manufacturing industry.
The spinout previously received $3.5m in March 2016 from Nissay Capital, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital and a range of unnamed investors.
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.