Silicon Gardens invests in FotoNation

GaryPageau ,

Galway, Ireland-based FotoNation Ltd., closed its Pre-A round led by Enterprise-Ireland and Silicon Gardens, with participation from other notable angels. This capital will accelerate FotoNation’s mission to develop its TriSilica product: an ultra-low-power, perception-AI chip. Specifically, the funds will be used to progress the completion of the MPW prototype, TS-210, the company said.

“This investment, from a leading European VC as well as from the Irish Government, marks a pivotal moment for our company, “said Petronel Bigioi, CEO, FotoNation. “On behalf of the management team, I thank our investors for their shared conviction in our long-term potential, cementing FotoNation as a leader in the European AI hardware race.”

Since its 2024 reincarnation, FotoNation, with many of its original team members, engaged in numerous design wins and reclaimed its market position as a leader in optimized ultra-low power perceptual-AI solutions. Investor support validates market demand for a dedicated hardware sensor-processing chipset, the company said.

“FotoNation is building ultra-efficient, hardware-accelerated edge AI that fuses vision and multimodal sensing on device,” said Gregor Rebolj, Managing Partner, Silicon Gardens. “Their technical depth and focus on privacy-aware experiences position them to help define the post-smartphone era of AI companions, from Physical AI to perceptual intelligence.”

“Enterprise Ireland is proud to support FotoNation’s next phase of growth, reinforcing Ireland’s advanced technology and semiconductor ecosystem,” said Leo McAdams, Head of Advanced Manufacturing and Lifesciences, Enterprise Ireland “This investment underscores our commitment to helping ambitious Irish companies scale globally, create high–value jobs across all regions, and build long–term economic resilience. We look forward to working closely with FotoNation as it seeks to expand internationally.”

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Gary Pageau is principal of InfoCircle LLC, continuing his marketing communications career. InfoCircle LLC is a marketing and communications consulting firm, specializing in business-to-business markets. For nearly 25 years, he was with PMA International, serving most recently as Publisher, Content Development and Strategic Initiatives. His primary responsibilities included overseeing the Association’s editorial department, marketing research unit, education and corporate relations department.