This Israeli startup is building sensors for AI, not human eyes

Elio Labs, a company developing sensors designed for artificial intelligence systems rather than human vision, said it has raised $21 million in a funding round led by Innovation Endeavors and Xora. The round also included participation from Kevin Weil and Scribble VC, as well as existing investors UpWest and Resolute Ventures, which led the company’s previous round. Elio says its technology is intended to change the way sensors capture information. Instead of recording a fixed image or data point in advance, the company’s sensors allow AI systems to determine in real time what information should be captured, depending on the task. According to the company, the system integrates computation into the optics themselves. Dynamic optical layers of micromirrors process light before it reaches the sensor, extracting signals that conventional lenses may flatten or lose.