- Akasha Imaging, a pioneer in deep imaging technology, announced that it has raised $10.75 million in a Series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures. These are the details.
Akasha Imaging, a pioneer in deep imaging technology, announced that it has raised $10.75 million in a Series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures, joined by Sierra Ventures and Orbital Ventures. And the funding will enable Akasha to grow the company through new hires, as well as support go-to-market activities as it commercializes a proprietary AI-based technology that improves robotic vision in manufacturing.
Akasha’s founding team includes some of the world’s top computational imaging scientists, including the company’s Chief Scientist and Co-Founder Achuta Kadambi, Ph.D. — who has done extensive work developing the technology that came out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. And Kadambi is currently an Assistant Professor at UCLA and was named to the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science list. Founding Scientist Ramesh Raskar, Ph.D. is an MIT professor and serial entrepreneur who previously worked at Google X and Facebook. CEO and founder Kartik Venkataraman, Ph.D. was the CTO and founder of Pelican Imaging (acquired by Xperi) and holds over 100 imaging patents.
The Akasha team combined its expertise in computational imaging and deep learning to develop the Akasha ClearSight Deep Imaging System, which produces extreme 3D images in unstructured environments. And integrating Akasha technology can result in a 10x improvement in robotic vision on assembly lines by enabling robots to handle a variety of items with extreme accuracy, irrespective of size, material, or illumination condition.
The unique capabilities supported by Akasha make it possible to automate even more tasks in manufacturing, supply chain, and logistics that are monotonous, dangerous, and expensive. And by enabling robots to handle precision work efficiently and accurately, Akasha’s deep imaging solution can improve worker safety, reduce fatigue, and deliver better quality products with fewer errors and less assembly line downtime.
KEY QUOTES:
“Akasha Imaging has a unique DNA, with founders who have shaped the field of computational imaging and are now bringing that technology to market to address real-world challenges. We believe there is much untapped potential for use of Akasha’s deep imaging techniques and completely new sensor technology in robotic automation to improve manufacturing processes and enhance worker safety, a market need further exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the global supply chain. This is the team qualified to take deep imaging-enhanced robotic vision to market.”
— Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures
“In these uncertain economic times, when many manufacturing facilities are faced with scaling back because of safety rules and social distancing guidelines, Akasha is well positioned to help keep assembly lines running and producing high-quality products,” said Venkataraman. “We look forward to working with our investors, who have a strong focus on AI and robotics, to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the manufacturing, supply chain and logistics sectors today.”
— Kartik Venkataraman, Ph.D.
