Image taken using GlassAI software integrated with an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max [Image: Glass]
Digital imaging technology company Glass Imaging, USA, announced that it had raised US$20 million in a series A funding round. The company says the investment will allow it to continue to improve and implement its GlassAI technology in camera platforms used in devices including drones, smartphones, wearables and more.
“At Glass Imaging, we are building the future of imaging technology,” said Ziv Attar, company CEO. “GlassAI can unlock the full potential of all cameras to deliver stunning ultra-detailed results and razor-sharp imagery. The range of use cases and opportunities across industry verticals are huge.”
New influx of funds
Founded by former Apple engineers Attar and Tom Bishop—who co-led the team that developed the iPhone’s Portrait Mode—Glass Imaging says its mission is to revolutionize the quality of compact camera systems. The company previously raised a US$9.3 million extended seed funding round in 2024, which followed an initial seed investment in 2021.
The financing round was led by global software investor Insight Partners, USA, and joined by previous US-based investors Google Ventures, Future Ventures and Abstract Ventures. “We’re incredibly proud to lead Glass Imaging’s series A round and look forward to what the team will build next as they seek to redefine just how great digital image quality can be,” said Praveen Akkiraju, managing director of Insight Partners.
Image quality revolution
Comparison of an image processed with an iPhone 13 Pro Max with the same image processed with GlassAI. [Image: Glass]
Glass Imaging’s proprietary GlassAI software reportedly extracts cameras’ full image quality potential by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to reverse the lens aberrations, sensor imperfections and noise. The startup claims that the technology improves camera performance by 10×, resulting in sharper and more detailed images that are still accurate to the real-life subject.
GlassAI achieves what the company describes as “unmatched” image quality with a “Neural Image Signal Processing” block, which processes raw sensor data to remove lens and sensor imperfections. “The AI network basically does all the sharpening, denoising, HDR, edge enhancement, noise removal and color noise removal—everything happens within one piece of neural network, which makes it much more efficient and just better,” said Attar.
The software also boasts a “Neural Zoom” block capable of providing a zoom function from a burst of raw frames and a “Neural Night” block, which Glass Imaging says “delivers exceptional denoising capabilities and produces remarkably clear images in the darkest conditions.” GlassAI can be trained and deployed on existing devices. “We can put our tech in any device that has a camera in it,” explains Attar.
The startup also offers a codesigned GlassAI + Optics system that can be added to new devices. The technology leverages a larger sensor, twice the size of the sensors currently found in smartphones, that is ultra-thin, allowing it to fit into mobile devices. Glass Imaging also says its device has a bigger lens aperture—up to 10× larger than those of smartphones on the market—which provides images with “beautiful natural bokeh,” or a blurred-background effect. The lens is also able to take in more light, which is handy in low-light situations.
“In today’s world, anyone can be a photographer, and with Glass Imaging’s technology, the delta between taking photos and creating great photography is rapidly shrinking,” said Erik Nordlander, general partner at Google Ventures.