Press Release

Senorics GmbH wins new investor, raises more than 8 million EUR in funding to expand material sensing technology and its commercialization

27 May 2021

Oberkochen | 27 May 2021 | ZEISS Group

The ZEISS Ventures Portfolio startup Senorics GmbH, a high-tech spin-off from the University of Technology Dresden (TU Dresden) successfully closed a new financing round.

Senorics is specialized in designing and manufacturing optical spectroscopic sensor solutions for mass market applications to make material sensing easy and affordable. Responding to the process industry’s soaring need for immediate workflow optimization, Senorics will use the new funds to accelerate the roll-out of its innovative near infrared (NIR)-spectroscopy sensors based on organic semiconductor technology.

In 2019 ZEISS and Senorics entered a technological cooperation to further develop the technology and to identify new application fields which laid the foundation for the current investment by ZEISS Ventures.
“In a highly automated world, the need to meet high-quality standards, to develop compact, low-cost solutions such as the one developed by Senorics plays an important role to address new applications in material sensing,” says Gerrit Schulte Head of ZEISS Ventures.

The new investment round is led by the FIDURA Private Equity Fonds, a shareholder of various growth stage companies, holding an active portfolio of technology investments. They are joined in the round by all existing investors such as TGFS (Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen) and a public funding by the Development Bank of Saxony (Sächsische Aufbaubank).

"With these powerful new partner and investments, we will be able to commercialize our solution in the initial target application fields and further develop our patented optical sensor technology,” explains Dr. Ronny Timmreck Founder and CEO of Senorics.

Press contact Jörg Nitschke

Head of Corporate Brand, Communications and Public Affairs
ZEISS Group

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. In the previous fiscal year, the ZEISS Group generated annual revenue totaling 6.3 billion euros in its four segments Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology and Consumer Markets (status: 30 September 2020).

For its customers, ZEISS develops, produces and distributes highly innovative solutions for industrial metrology and quality assurance, microscopy solutions for the life sciences and materials research, and medical technology solutions for diagnostics and treatment in ophthalmology and microsurgery. The name ZEISS is also synonymous with the world's leading lithography optics, which are used by the chip industry to manufacture semiconductor components. There is global demand for trendsetting ZEISS brand products such as eyeglass lenses, camera lenses and binoculars.

With a portfolio aligned with future growth areas like digitalization, healthcare and Smart Production and a strong brand, ZEISS is shaping the future of technology and constantly advancing the world of optics and related fields with its solutions. The company's significant, sustainable investments in research and development lay the foundation for the success and continued expansion of ZEISS' technology and market leadership. ZEISS invests 12 percent of its revenue in research and development – this high level of expenditure has a long tradition at ZEISS and is also an investment in the future.

With over 34,000 employees, ZEISS is active globally in almost 50 countries with around 30 production sites, 60 sales and service companies and 27 research and development facilities. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. The Carl Zeiss Foundation, one of the largest foundations in Germany committed to the promotion of science, is the sole owner of the holding company, Carl Zeiss AG (status: 31 March 2021).

Further information at www.zeiss.com

About Senorics

Senorics GmbH is a high-tech company from Dresden whose technology makes near infrared spectroscopy suitable for the mass market. Using the innovative sensors, ingredients in many solids and liquids, such as food, agricultural products, plastics, textiles, or pharmaceuticals, can be analyzed and quantified with little effort. The powerful sensors are very small but still robust against external influences such as vibrations. As the only supplier worldwide, Senorics can produce handy and cost-effective measuring instruments, aiming to benefit the end-consumer. When using this type of spectroscopy, a sample is irradiated with infrared light. Using an algorithm developed by Senorics, the substances contained can be determined from the wavelengths of the reflected light. The company, which was founded in 2017, is a spin-off of TU Dresden.

About FIDURA Private Equity Fonds

FIDURA is a German group of independent Private Equity Fonds, founded in 2001 by experienced entrepreneurs and capital market specialists. The FIDURA Private Equity Fonds invest in technology companies primarily in German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). The focus is on companies that have already successfully completed their seed phase and are entering a growth phase. The fund management accompanies the companies not only as an investor, but also as a coach and sparring partner. In addition, FIDURA Private Equity Fonds are investing in accordance with clear ethical and sustainability criteria.

Further information at www.fidura.de

About TGFS

The TGFS provides technology-oriented founders with equity capital for the seed and start-up phase. The fund was first set up in 2008 by the Free State of Saxony (including ERDF funding) and Saxon financial institutions and has since supported more than 80 start-ups in what is now the 2nd generation of funds. The total fund volume amounts to M€ 147. Target companies of the TGFS are young, innovative, technology-oriented founders and companies that belong to the sectors ITC, semiconductor and microsystem technology, medical technology, life science, environmental and energy technology as well as new media and have their headquarters or place of business in Saxony.

Further information at www.tgfs.de